Another Life: A Walking Dead AU
by Evalea
Summary: AU of Serenity's Resolve. Ren and Daryl had thought that if it weren't for the walkers they would have never met, that two people as different as them could never have possibly crossed paths or fallen in love, but what if it wasn't true? What if they had met? What if the world had never gone to hell and things were still normal for two abnormal people?
1. Chapter 1

"Plane just landed." She spoke into her cellphone as she walked out of first class.

"You know what type of car they get you yet?" Becca asked with what sounded like a mouth full of toast.

"Not yet, but I mean it was a first-class seat, overnight to Atlanta, but it's probably gunna be a nice one since they clearly think this job requires buttering me up." Ren smirked.

"How long of a drive is it to get to where you're going?"

She looked at her papers, "About an hour and a half to the mountains."

"Wait they're sending you to the mountains? Why? What high tech thing-a-ma-jig broke up there?" Her friends continued to eat her breakfast.

"No idea, but I guess I'll find out soon." Ren laughed at her, "Hopefully it doesn't take too long."

"Damn straight, you have a wedding to plan." Becca said, "And you still haven't let me try on all the bride's maids' dresses possible!"

"I'm such a bitch! How could I?" Ren gasped before laughing as she made her way to the car rental place, "Start getting the list ready, because I know you've started one. I have to go though, I'm about to see what car I'm getting."

"Text me with a picture!" Becca almost sang before hanging up the phone.

Ren walked up to the counter and gave her name. After signing a few things, she was handed the keys and went to get her luggage, which was now clearing out, everyone now heading to get their rental car and she grabbed the large bag from the conveyor belt with no trouble at all. When she walked outside the airport, she held up her phone, taking a picture of the red car and texted her friend with the caption '_Audi'._

She hadn't even started it when she got a text back saying, '_Hot damn this must be an important gig!'_

Ren laughed again as she pulled out of the airport and got onto I-75 North, making her way towards the hotel address she had been given.

* * *

It was a small town. It was a smaller hotel. And she hated her bosses because now everyone in that town and who worked at that hotel were looking at her like she was an alien for showing up in a car that cost more than it would cost for her to stay in the hotel for a year. Hiding her embarrassment from her 'city girl' persona, she put her stuff in the hotel and made her way to the address she needed to be at for her work, which was in the National Forest.

On her way there, her phone started ringing and she smiled as she answered, "You're up early."

"Yeah, Veronica called me with an emergency." Her fiancé's voice still sounded like he was half asleep, "I'm assuming you made it to Atlanta?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way to the work site now. I'm hoping it doesn't need much." She told him.

"Hey, they're paying you a crap ton to be out there, so take your time." He joked.

"While you're not wrong about the pay, we do have a wedding to plan." She often had to remind him of this and after six months and only having set a date that was a year and a half out, it was beginning to make her a little anxious.

Chris chuckled, "Don't worry, we have plenty of time. Get everything taken care of out there, make bank, then come back and we'll start looking at locations."

"Promise?" She asked.

"Of course." He told her, "Ren, everything will fall into place. You worry too much."

"No, I'm just practical." She muttered, "I'm pulling in, so I have to go."

"Alright, love you."

"Love you too." She replied before hanging up her phone and getting out of the car. Walking into the building that looked more like a large cabin she went up to the front desk, "Hi, my name is Ren, I'm the tech from GCH."

"Yes, they told me you were comin'." The woman said, her southern accent strong but sweet. Standing, she went around the desk and led the way as they went back to a back area. The woman opened the door to a room and inside of the tiny space was a cramped desk with a lamp, a bunch of papers, and a very, very old computer on the desk.

"Woah! Is that an HP A4033A?" Ren gasped as she moved into the tiny room.

"I told 'em I didn't think you'd be able to do much with it since it's so old." The woman said.

"Yeah, I might new some new upgrades and a floppy disk converter, but this is amazing! This is the first computer I ever re-built!" Ren smiled and looked at the woman. Realizing her excitement was probably not the best placed at the moment, she quickly went back to professional, "What is it exactly that I'm supposed to be fixing?"

"We've lost the ability to contact our towers in the forest. There was some kind of short or spark or somethin', and we weren't able to fix it. Had to call everyone back since we couldn't keep ears on 'em." The woman told her.

"Alright." She booted up the computer before sitting down, "I might have to make some calls and get some better tech in here, but let's see if I can find the source first."

The woman watched her as she started typing on the keyboard, her fingers flying. She turned to head back to the front desk, leaving Ren to do her work in peace as she picked up her cell phone to make a call.

* * *

Four hours and two phone calls later she leaned back in the hard, wooden chair, her ass hurt like hell from the hard-wood and her eyes felt dry, but she at least had some kind of idea of what was happening. Getting up and leaving the room she made her way back to the front where the woman was still sitting but this time a man was standing across from her, the two talking, he was dressed more like a ranger than the woman was. When the woman saw Ren she smiled, "Murray, this is the tech GCH sent out from California."

"Nice to meet you ma'am." The man smiled at her.

"Hi." She looked back at the woman, "I think I know part of the issue."

"Well good thing Murrays here then, he's the man in charge." The woman motioned to him.

"Oh, okay then." Ren turned to face the man again, "From what I can tell you had some type of surge that pushed back on the system burning it out. I can access the first tower out from here, but I can't get into the meat of it so either there's a problem in some of the wires connecting it to here or there's a problem in the programming, but I can't even get an echo. Either way, I need to get out there to see what's going on."

"I got a guy that can take you out there. You sure it isn't just somethin you can tell us how to take care of?" Murray asked looking her up and down quickly.

She didn't even notice it as she said, "It's a lot of programing language that's going to be needed and I might possibly have to re-wire somethings. I'll also have to call in to the central hub to get in deep into the I.P.s and servers out here."

"Say no more. I'll get you out there." Murray laughed. As they finished talking the loud noise of an engine was heard pulling up outside. The man looked at the door, "And here's our guy now."

Murray walked to the door and motioned for the person outside to come inside and the rumble of the truck cut off. Ren watched as a man with long shaggy hair, a goatee, and slightly baggy and dirty clothes walked in. The man didn't even look at her, "Lost their tracks 'bout a mile from the river. I'mma pick 'em back up tomorrow t' see if I can find new ones." He the motioned, "Also who the hell is driving that red thing out there?"

"That would be-" Murray turned to look at her realizing she never got her name.

"Ren." She answered for him, holding up a hand in a sort of wave at the man.

"She was sent to try and get the comms back running in the towers." Murray told him, "In fact she needs someone to take her out to Tower One. You're the only one allowed out there with the radios down." Murray looked back to Ren, "Ren this is Daryl, he can get you out to the tower and make sure you're safe the whole time."

"Safe? From what?" It was just a forest, so what the hell had this man been tracking.

Daryl looked at the girl. She was short but lean, he could tell she wasn't a total weakling. Looking at her and the skinny jeans and t-shirt she wore he was surprised to hear she was the one driving the sports car, he'd have figured the person would have been dressed up more. The girl was pretty though, prettier than anything he'd seen in a while, her green eyes staring at him as she waited for an answer. "Lots of things out there can kill you. Wolves're what I've been trackin', attacked some people last week."

"Well the people were in their home." Ren shrugged, "It's like getting bitten by a shark in the ocean then getting mad at the shark. You invaded their space."

"Still don' mean I ain't gotta keep someone like you safe from it." He replied.

_Someone like you._ Ren hated that, but she was used to it. She smiled at him, "Well then, when can we go so you can get back to your wolves?"

"How longs it gunna take?" He asked.

"Depends on the problem, which I could probably figure out in an hour or two." She told him.

"Let's go now, we can be back before sundown." Daryl turned back to the door.

"Here." Murray reached over the desk, "Satellite phone in case you need to call one of your people, I don't think you'll get cell service out there."

"Thanks." Ren smiled taking the phone from him, before heading to the door as she followed Daryl. The truck he was in wasn't the nicest, but out here that didn't matter, as long as it didn't get stuck on the trail, it was perfectly fine. Taking a deep breath, she opened the handle, preparing herself to have to spend at least the next few hours with this guy who thought of her as nothing more than a little girl from the city with a fancy car.

* * *

**A/N: This is my first ever true AU, so please let me know what you think! I love reading peoples thoughts :) **


	2. Chapter 2

The ride was silent and bumpy, not even noise from the radio played, she wasn't even sure if the center console worked. It was about an hour then they had to hike for around fifteen minutes and she never realized how muggy it was this far south, the short distance had her sweating despite the fact it was September. When they got to the tower the only way up was a tall ladder. It didn't bother Ren any, she was used to rock climbing with Becca.

Daryl watched her climb up, he watched a specific part of her as she went. He hadn't really gotten any action recently with Merle back in lock up. He didn't really go out without his brother and when he did, he didn't socialize. But this girl was beautiful, and he couldn't deny it.

Once they were both up, they went into the tower and Ren booted up the computer station as Daryl went and kicked back on the cot in the corner. He expected her to look at him and roll her eyes or scoff at him, but she didn't, she just looked at the computer in front of her. Daryl could hear her typing quickly, how people could do that he didn't understand, but she was really good at it. He watched as she would type, then click around, at one point she leaned back in the chair as some type of bar went across the screen.

She picked up the satellite phone and dialed a number from her cell phone, which Murray had been right, didn't have signal. She looked over her shoulder at Daryl, "Will it bother you if I have it on speaker?"

"No." He shrugged. Honestly, he was surprised she even asked at all. Most like her didn't care about what would bother him or his opinion on the situation.

Hitting the button, she waited while it rang. When it picked up, she said, "Hey Connor, it's Ren."

"Good morning beautiful, why haven't I seen your face today?"

"I was sent on the Georgia rush." She answered back.

"Well that's shitty."

"Speak for yourself." She smirked looking out the window, "You can't get a view like this in Silicone Valley."

"Yeah I always forget you didn't grow up out here." The man sighed.

"Virginia born and bred baby." She laughed, "Now as fun as this is, I didn't call for just a pleasurable chat."

"Are you finally going to accept my offer to take you to dinner? Because if so, best day _ever_!" Connor laughed.

"Nope, not for that either. I need you to get into an IP." She told him, "Be sure to run a full diagnostic."

Daryl listened to them off and on, other than the beginning of the conversation the rest of it sounded like a foreign language. Her body language though was a different thing, her back slouched when she joked with this guy, her hand running over the top of her hair, but when they got down to work her spine was stiff, ankles crossed as she leaned over the desk, he could tell something wasn't right with the way she rubbed the back of her neck. After two hours of her on the phone the two of them said good-bye and he watched as she let out a sigh, falling back against the chair.

"Problems?" He asked and she jumped slightly.

"Forgot you were there you're so damn quiet." She turned to see him, "And yes, major problems."

"Can you fix it?" He sat up, while he didn't need the towers to do what he did for the forest service, he knew they were crucial if something were to go wrong deep inside the forest.

"I can fix almost anything." She looked back at the computer with a sigh.

"But?"

"But it's going to take…well it's going to take a lot and a phone call to the CEO." She scratched at her head, "And I hate calling him."

"Why?" He asked.

She turned in the chair and looked at him, "You know that person where they ask you to do something, because they know you can do it, then when you tell them what you need to get it done they question every little thing about it because they don't think you know what you're talking about?"

"Yeah." Daryl knew plenty of people like that towards him, hell sometimes his own brother was guilty of it.

"He's like that ninety percent of the time." She told him and Daryl nodded. Ren looked back out the window and looked at the sun going down over the tree line, "We can leave now if you want, I know you wanted to be back by sundown."

"Alright, c'mon." He got up from the bed and went back to the door, starting on the ladder before she was even out the door. Daryl watched again as she came back down and this time, he reached out to put his hand on her back as she got to the ground.

Ren felt his hand on her back and knew this might just be him trying to keep her 'safe', but it was a little awkward as she wasn't unstable in the slightest. She shrugged it off as him being from the south and just being a gentleman, she was sure it was a polite thing here.

He drove her back to the main entrance and from there she drove back to her hotel. She unpacked her luggage and when she pulled out her laptop, she opened up to barely have any wifi. Sighing she was hungry anyways and needed a drink, so she packed her laptop into a bag and headed out to anywhere with those three things.

Walking into a place that only had two patrons in it she walked up to the bar and asked the girl behind it, "Do you guys have good wifi?"

"Yeah but you gotta buy something to use it." The bartender told her.

"Not a problem." Ren pointed over her shoulder at a booth tucked away in the corner, "Alright if I sit there?"

The woman nodded and she went over to the booth and pulled out her laptop. She started connecting to their database and looked at all the data from the diagnostics checks again. As she went through, she started filling out a requisitions form from her work, all the things she would need to get the job done. Ren was halfway done with the burger she'd ordered by the time she was done filling it out.

Leaning back in the booth she stretched her back and when she relaxed again, she saw a freshly opened beer bottle getting put down in front of her. Daryl was the one putting it there, "Looked like you could use it."

"You following me?" She smirked.

"Nah." Was all he said. He pointed to the laptop, "Workin?"

"Yeah. Filling out all the things I'm going to need to get you guys up and functional again." She sighed before taking a gulp of the beer.

Daryl was surprised to see her drinking it, she hadn't even batted an eye at it. He leaned against the other booth seat, "I just track and hunt for 'em."

"Apologies. I thought you worked there too." She gave him an awkward smile. He was awkward and straightforward, but in an endearing way.

"Can you get it done?" He asked.

"Oh, it's not a question of what I can do," She said as her phone started ringing, "It's a matter of what they're going to give me. Which is what this phone call is about." He just nodded as she answered, putting it on speaker once again. "Hey Frank."

"Serenity, how's Georgia?" The man asked.

Daryl had wondered what kind of a name Ren was, and now he knew. As he looked at her, delicate fingers around the beer bottle, her chin resting on the other hand as she looked down at her phone, her eyelashes covering her green eyes from him, it was a fitting name. She answered her boss, "Humid, so what was wrong?"

"You know he's going to ask why you need all that." Frank said.

"Yeah, but he should also know I'm working with tech that's older than me in some cases." She told him.

She heard a sigh, "Shit that is bad."

"Yeah, so I need converters and processers and all the fancy gadgets." Daryl watched as she scratched at the back of her neck again. "Frank, it's not like I'm asking to upgrade the whole system into the twenty first century. I don't want solar panels and the detection system, I just need the stuff that will allow the two systems to communicate."

"Maybe you should ask for that stuff though." Frank said.

"What?" Ren froze.

"You're the best we have, and Justin has had your self-sustaining and forest protection systems on his desk since you got promoted two years ago. He promised you you'd get to implement it, maybe this is the time to push the issue."

"Woah, woah, woah." She couldn't believe this, "Are you saying you called to see why I was asking for as much as I was and now, you're telling me to ask for _more_? Also do you know how long fixes like that would take? I'd be out here for at least two months, _at least_. Justin would never go for having me away that long.

"He's all about good publicity, this is that. It's greener energy, for forests, created and implemented by out best computer and electrical engineer, who just so happens to be a woman, that was also a child genius." Daryl didn't understand what half of what was said, but he was sure the man was exaggerating about this girl being a child genius…but he thought about it and she did seem kind of young. Frank continued, "Ren, if anyone would ever get the opportunity to ask for this, it's you right now. Take it. If your idea works out there, think of what it could do for the forests out here."

"What are my odds?" Ren asked.

"Right now, pretty good. I'd say two to one, he's in a damn good mood because you're out there right now taking care of things."

"I still don't know if I can be away that long." She sighed, her hand rubbing the back of her neck, she hadn't been able to keep it from hurting the past few weeks.

Her boss chuckled, "You can, the wedding isn't for another year and a half. You can do everything when you get back in maximum four months. Have Chris video call you when he tours places so it's like you're there, and you'll get an idea of lighting for the photos too."

_Damn._ Daryl thought. She was engaged. She didn't wear a ring, so it wasn't obvious. Looks like he wasn't going to get any from her unless she started it. Merle was the one who didn't mind trying to get in the middle of a relationship, even a married women's, but Daryl, he wouldn't get between a happy one. He'd only do it if the girl initiated it, and he didn't get that kind of vibe from Ren. She was too good for him anyways and he knew it, there was no way a girl like her would ever go for a guy like him.

"Better make your decision quick, Justin's calling and I'm adding him to the call." Frank said.

"What?! No-" Ren started.

"How's my golden child doing?" Justin's voice came over the phone.

"Good." Ren covered her eyes as she spoke, as if she was trying to hide herself from the conversation. She hated asking for things, and she hated knowing she was more than likely going to get it because of her background. "So Justin, I was thinking while I'm out here-"

"You're going to re-wire their whole system. Bring them into the future including your detection and protection systems." Justin cut her off, which Daryl noted was very rude, "That's what you were going to ask for right? You've been trying to get me to green light it very passively for the past few years."

"Yes sir." She replied still hiding.

"Well ask for it. And not passively either. Demand it." Justin said.

"Um…okay." She ran her hands over her head, wondering what the hell was going on.

"No ums." Justin butted in again before she could say anything. "Make me give you everything you need and more for this."

"Sir, these forest rangers are working with technology that's older than I am. It's not a good look for our company for them to say we deal with their systems." She swallowed deeply, building her courage, "It's also shit for the environment and that's also a bad look for our company. You got me because it made our company look good, now let me make it look even better. You're going to send me everything on my requisitions sheet. Then you're going to send me solar panels for all of the towers as well as the main ranger building, then we're going to test our forest fire detection method out here and work to see how we can prevent them."

"Very good." Justin said, a smirk in his voice.

"I'll be in contact with Ren while she figures out everything she's going to need for the upgrade." Frank said and then the phone cut off.

Daryl watched as she fell back against the booth chair and looked at him, her face pale and eyes wide, "Guess I'm going to be around for a while."

"Yeah." He turned around walking away, drinking his beer.

* * *

**A/N: I know it's kind of a slow start in this story but please let me know what you guys think about the characters and how Daryl is. I like suggestions! Thanks :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"My God this is so much easier to use." The woman from the front desk, Wendy as Ren had finally learned her name, said while using the new computer in the back room.

"Yeah and if you guys ever have any issues with this one or the ones I'm going to install in the towers, all you have to do is call and we can take them over remotely to see what the issue is without you guys having to worry about finding the IP address and all the other info to give us." Ren smiled.

"That's amazing." Wendy grinned up at her. Ren liked the woman, she reminded her of a heavier set and southern version of her own mom. Or at least what she could remember of her mom. They walked back to the front together and woman smiled at Murray who was talking to Daryl, "They sent us a genius alright, the system back there is already updated and secured."

Murray turned away from the other man and looked at Ren, "That's good to hear. How did you get so good at this anyways?"

"I went to school for it." She told them.

"But you're still very young, aren't you?" Wendy sat down at the desk, she had been acting almost enamored with Ren since she'd come back with a solution so fast.

"I'm twenty-four." Ren let out an awkward laugh. She hated this part.

"I wish my son was as smart as you." Wendy waved her off, "He just works at the gas station. He's about your age, maybe you could give him some motivation."

Ren almost choked on her own spit at this. Was Wendy trying to hook her up with her son? She knew she shouldn't have left without her ring. Chris had bought it too big and she was scared of losing it.

"Gonna be too busy." Daryl but in, "Workin on the towers and plannin a weddin."

"Wedding?" Wendy lit up and Ren wasn't sure if Daryl was trying to help her out or drag her down more. He'd been acting a lot more distant and aloof since the night he gave her a beer at the bar, but then again, she'd only known him less than a day at that point. "What's his name? How long have you been together?"

"Chris." Ren started to pull out her phone, knowing a picture of him was going to be needed for the woman, "We've been together for two years."

Daryl had thought he was going to get her out of the awkward situation Wendy had put her in, but Ren had shot him a sharp glare as she pulled out her phone, leaning over to so the woman. He looked away before he was able to see down her shirt and spoke to Murray, "I can do it, gotta get somethin from it though."

"What are we talking Daryl?" Murray sighed, "I didn't turn you in when I found yours and Merles stash out there six months ago, you want somethin else now?"

"Don pay me by the job." Daryl said, "Pay me by the day I'm out there 'cause I know you still want me lookin for that wolf pack."

"I can have that arranged, I'm sure." Murray sighed. He turned back to the two women, Ren trying to get herself out of the conversation, "Ren can you come here?"

"Yes." She answered a little to quickly and moved over to where the two men were, "What's up?"

Daryl tried to avoid looking at her, she was cute with her little smile on as she waited to hear what the plan was for her job. How the hell was he going to survive being out in the woods alone with her for at least a month? He just had to remember, she was engaged and unless she started it, he would stay away from her and those goddamn pink lips.

"So we can't get the solar panels and such out to you until you have the towers back up and running, so the plan is for Daryl here to take you out to the towers and get them all working then we bring the panels and other stuff out to you. How does that sound?" Murray asked.

"Yeah that sounds fine to me, I mean you guys have rules you have to follow and if that's how we have to do it, that's how we have to do it." Ren smiled before her phone started ringing. Looking down a smile formed on her face, "Hey, sorry I have to get this. We start tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Daryl answered and she smiled at him before heading to the door, answering.

"Hey long time no hear. How was the camping trip?" Ren asked as she got out the door.

"Good, our uncle however doesn't really get fishing." Hammond joked, "Talked so much he scared away the fish."

"You'd think he'd want some peace and quiet after dealing with teenagers all the time." She laughed before moving out of the way of the door as Daryl came out. He saw her still standing there and began 'packing' up his truck very slowly, he knew it wasn't right to listen in on her conversation, but he was about to be spending all this time with her, he should get to know a little about her. She asked, "How'd dad do?"

"Dad? Dad did great. As much as he complained about you paying that much for his new wheelchair, he sure as hell loved being able to get around out in the woods." Hammond told her, "So your text said you're in Atlanta?"

"No, I flew into Atlanta, learn to read dingus." She picked on him.

"I was driving as the texts came in."

"Well then you shouldn't have been reading while driving in the first place."

The smile on her face told Daryl she had a good relationship with this person, perhaps it was her fiancé, in which there was no chance of her starting it between them no matter how long they were out there. But he guessed it was a good thing if it was him, he clearly made her happy, happier than his dad made his mom, or Merle had ever made any woman. Hell, this might be the healthiest relationship he'd ever seen, and that was all that mattered. He could tell she was a good person, wanting to help save the environment, saying that the forest belonged to the wolves and that people shouldn't complain about getting attacked there. Daryl was okay with his satisfaction being from helping her and keeping her safe while she was out there.

"So, since you're out in the forest and all that fun stuff does that mean I can come visit you? Or Uncle Negan?" Hammond asked.

"No." She rolled her eyes, a smirk lingering on her face, "I'm working, and when I'm working, there are no personal visits, no matter where in the country I am, you know this."

"Come on, it's starting to get cold up here. Plus, Uncle Negan misses you." Hammond told her, "He hasn't seen you since the funeral."

"Yeah…I know, I'll see him soon." She told him. Daryl watched her expression go sad. "I've just been really busy."

"I know, and I know it's weird for you to go back to the house and not have Aunt Lucille there." Her brother added, "But hey, I just wanted to let you know we made it back into town alright, Dad's doing fine, and that if you need anything while you're on our coast to let me know okay?"

"Alright." Ren tucked her hair behind her ear. "Tell dad I'll call him tomorrow."

"Okay. Miss you Brainiac."

"Miss you too meat head." She laughed heading to her car.

Daryl looked over his shoulder as he 'secured' his bow in the back, "Fiancé?"

"No, big brother." She smiled at him. If he thought he was fooling her about not leaving right away to make sure everything on his truck was fine, he clearly didn't know how smart she actually was. Ren figured he was just trying to scope her out, see what he was going to have to be dealing with for the next few weeks, he was clearly a lone wolf. She had to admit, it was going to be awkward, being out with a man she barely knew for that long. Chris wasn't going to be happy about it when he heard but it was better than being out there alone. Her fiancé at least wouldn't see him, his piercing blue eyes, and muscles that Chris didn't have, he'd be threatened like any man probably would be. She at least knew with the way he'd been acting towards her the past two days he wasn't going to try to hit on her a lot, so her husband to be had nothing to worry about. She gave him a smile, "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah." He watched her get in the red Audi. Daryl had heard people in the town muttering about her and the car. He'd heard her telling Murray that it wasn't her choice to get that car and joking that the one she owned was almost eight years old, much to her boss's dismay apparently. He was about to get in the truck when he heard her try and start the car and it just clicked over and over.

Ren tried again and the car once again didn't start. Sighing she got out while popping the hood and she saw Daryl come around from the driver's side of his truck. She said, "I don't think she likes having to come up the mountain every day."

"She?" He asked.

"Yeah, she. You know, the car." She motioned towards it, "You don't do that with stuff?"

He looked away from her and to the engine, "Nah."

"Oh, okay." She followed his gaze to under the hood, not knowing what else to say to that. Looking down at the engine it looked the map to a land on the surface of another planet. She wished that her Uncles had taught her stuff about cars, they were better at it then both her brother and her dad, but they'd wanted her to focus on her school and computers, the things she enjoyed.

"Yeah, transmissions messed up." Daryl said after looking for a few moments. "But the starters your issue right now."

"What how can you tell?" She stepped in closer, her hand going to his shoulder as she tried to lean in to where he was, but it wasn't that easy since she was shorter than him. He tensed up at the feeling of her hand on him, his head turning to look at it on his skin. Ren saw him look from her hand to her face and she quickly let him go, "Sorry."

"'S alright." He muttered. "Cars gunna need to be towed. Don much matter since we're gunna be out there for so long."

"I'll get a tow company out here." She sighed again going back towards the car to grab her phone.

"You need to rest, we're leavin out early." Daryl told her, "Murray can deal with the car."

"What do you mean we're leaving out early?" Her head popped back up from the cab of the car.

"I'll drive you back and pick you up, but we're leavin at four a.m." He informed her of a decision he'd already made after seeing the transmission.

"Um…okay, yeah that works." She said grabbing her bag out of the car, "You sure Murray will be fine with taking care of this?"

"Yeah." Was all he answered as he climbed into the driver's side of the truck.

She went around and got into the passenger's side. It smelled like an ashtray, but her eyes lingered on the pack of cigarettes in the cup holder. Her eyes darted away. She'd promised Chris she'd stop, and she had. She'd been doing really well at not smoking cigarettes when she was stressed, she didn't even have one when she drank anymore. It'd been six months, she could keep going, even if she was inwardly freaking out about everything going on.

The night before she'd spilled everything to Becca, the pressure of the wedding, the amount of time she was going to be away from her home, which was familiar and safe, the fact that she was taking the lead on her own project finally and she was trying not to actively screw it up because then Justin would never let her try anything new ever again. It also didn't help that she was in a new place where most of the people gave her dirty looks and Daryl, the one person that didn't, the person she was about to be stuck with for the next god knows how long, barely talked to her.

Now was a time she really wanted a cigarette. But she didn't ask for one, even as he lit it. She just sat there and smelled it, the closest she could get. She'd promised Chris.

She hadn't said anything about him lighting up the cigarette, he figured she minded because she had stiffened slightly when he did, but she was too polite to say anything. As weird as it was, he found it kind of annoying. She seemed smart as hell, she had confidence in what she did, but she rarely stood up for herself. If she wanted him to quit smoking, she should say it.

They were silent the whole time, all the way back to her hotel. She thanked him for the ride when they got there, and she quickly went to her room. She had to be up at four in the morning to have more awkward time with this guy. At least he probably wouldn't talk her ear off the whole time.

* * *

**A/N: Be sure to let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

She'd learned very quickly that while Daryl was a morning person, he wasn't anymore talkative. He was wide awake at four a.m. when he picked her up and she was praying for expresso the entire drive to the tower. After the second day of it she actually asked Becca to express mail her some so that once they were further out and she wasn't waking up in a hotel room every morning, because she was sure that he would be getting her up just as early then. Ren realized she might actually kill him if he did that.

He was gone for the day tracking his wolves and she was waiting for a patch update to finish. The satellite phone her work had sent her along with all of the supplies started to ring. She smiled seeing the number, "Hey dad."

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to be out in the forest for over a month?!" He started.

She chuckled as she felt footsteps on the wooden floor, Daryl must be back for the day. "Because I knew you'd have this kind of reaction. Uncle Negan was cool about it. And Uncle Trent said it would be worth it."

Daryl walked in and put his bow down. He heard her talking and assumed she was on the phone. He'd learned she liked having it on speaker so she could use her hands to work on the computer. Not wanting to interrupt her call he didn't make too much noise.

"And your brother?"

"Doesn't care."

"Your fiancé?" Her fathers voice dropped in pitch because they both knew that Chris, did in fact not like it.

"He was fine with the money." She started and her father cut her off.

"But he wasn't fine with how long your going to be gone?"

"No, he's fine with that. He's more upset that I'm not out here alone…And that my guide is of the male biology." She leaned back in the chair her eyes on the screen.

"If he thinks that you're going to cheat on him, he definitely not as smart as you. Which is hard for most people to be." Her dad threw in there, "But I've never seen you cheat on anything, not even an art history test."

"God I hated that class. I can't believe I let Uncle Trent talk me into it." She muttered under her breath.

Daryl looked at the map, drawing lines of where he'd tracked the pack trying to figure out where they were going or where their den was, but he was distracted by their conversation. He now knew there was no chance of being with her, which again he was fine with, but it was hard to look at her and not want to reach out and touch her, and now that he was getting to know her it was even worse. She was of course smart, but she also wasn't as helpless as he thought she would be, she was able to carry heavy things, not that he let her, and she didn't complain about the heat and humidity or the bugs. The only time she made noise was when she was on the phone and that was mostly to do work, this was the first personal phone call she'd had in the four days since they'd been out there at the first tower, other than that she was focused on her work, the rest of the world being blocked out. She even forgot to eat one day, he had to remind her, and she'd given him that damn sweet smile as she thanked him for reminding her. He'd never met someone who was so nice to him right off the bat. Most people when they met him either turned away, were made uncomfortable by him, or tried to use him, but not Ren. And he couldn't understand it.

"By the way I just wanted you to know, I'm considering getting you a live-in nurse." Ren spoke quickly, this was something she'd been hesitant about talking to her father about and in a place where she could claim the signal dropped out would be best so she could end the call if he fought her too much.

"What? Why? I do just fine on my own!" Her dad retorted.

"You aren't on your own, Hammond lives there and now that him and Lena are getting serious, he might be moving out soon, much like he deserves to after putting up with us for so long. And then you'll need someone around to help you out and make sure you do your stretches and all that." Ren said, clicking the mouse around the screen the process having finished, "Either that or I'm going to have the house completely remodeled and have a nurse come by twice a day."

"Can you make it a pretty nurse at least if they live with me?" He groaned.

She laughed, "Yes, and I'll make sure she likes football and basketball too."

"You're the best, but you know my insurance should take care of that." He told her.

"They should, but what's the use in having a kid that works at a place like I do if I can't buy you all the things you need?"

"Having a kid that's happy." He said.

"I am happy dad." She hated how he still dadded her like she was eight, but she hated it in the best way. "I have to go though, I'm technically on company time."

"Alright, love you sweetheart, call when you can."

"I will, love you too." She said before hanging up the phone.

Daryl took the chance before she got distracted again, "You eat?"

She paused, then gasped, "Shit!"

"Here." He handed her one of the prepackaged meals for them while they were out there, it was bland and boring but it had the nutrition they needed, but it was going to be pretty much all they ate once they were deeper in the forest.

"Thanks." She smiled at him as she took it. Turning back to the desk she listened as he also opened one up. He must have been waiting until she was off the phone, so he didn't make to much noise, which was sweet of him.

The silence was awkward for a moment until he asked with his mouthful, "Your dad sick?"

"Paraplegic with some other under lying issues." She turned around as she told him. He gave her a look, one she was getting used to, it meant he didn't understand something, and she knew what it was. She smiled, "He can't use his legs. He's in a wheelchair."

He nodded, now understanding, "Nice you take care of him."

"He's my dad. I'd do anything for him. I'm sure you understand." Ren smiled again then saw him pause and his eyes go cold for a moment. Turning back to her computer, she tried to completely divert the conversation, "Plus it was kind of my fault anyways."

_WHAT THE FUCK!_ She thought. That's the direction she decided to go to take the awkwardness away? It was going to be a long few of weeks with him if this is how she handled social situations.

"What'd'ya mean?" He asked, he couldn't imagine her doing anything to purposely hurt someone, let alone her dad who she clearly loved, something he was slightly jealous of, but he'd understood what she'd said. He'd have done anything for his dad before he died despite all the shit he did.

"It was a car accident when I was twelve, he was driving in the rain and got t-boned and his car flipped a few times into a ditch…" She leaned down at her food, her voice low and the fork pushing around the stalk of broccoli, "I was having a scholarship competition and despite the fact that my brother, aunt, and two uncles were there, I wanted my dad there even though he had to work late. He was rushing to get there because I was being spoiled."

"Ain't spoiled to want him there." Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "Did he run the light?"

"No." Ren told him.

"Then it ain't your fault. It's the guy that hit hims." He told her. The conversation had shifted from one bad memory to another and he felt back that it was on hers. He got up from the chair and clunked down on the cot, putting his hands behind his head and crossing his legs, "You said you're gunna be done today?"

"Yeah, it's almost ready to connect to the offices." Ren pushed the thoughts of her dad's accident away.

"K, wake me up when you're done." He closed his eyes.

She was going to kill him. It was a sure thing now. He was going to die. He made her leave her hotel every morning at four a.m. and now he's gunna sit there and take a nap? She made sure she typed and clicked as loud as possible, so he didn't sleep easily at least.

* * *

"You have the satellite phone number, so what are you worried about?" She chuckled as she finished packing her stuff into the bag she was taking into the forest with her. They would be coming back every so often to restock on stuff, but she wasn't sure how long that would be.

"What I'm worried about it that guy going with you!" Chris' voice went up in pitch. "Tell me about him."

"What?" She turned to look at the computer screen where he was on. "Why?"

"Because I don't trust him. I mean…look at you. What sane guy would trust you alone with another man?" He said.

She moved to sit down in front of the screen crossing her arms, "What's that supposed to mean? You think I'd cheat on you?"

"What?" His eyes widened and his voice went up in pitch as he shook his head, "No. No! Of course not! I trust you not to do anything, it's him I don't trust."

"You don't even know him." She didn't uncross her arms.

"Which is why I asked you to tell me about him." He said again.

"Fine." She sighed, "His name is Daryl, he's got black hair, blue eyes, taller than you, kinda muscular-"

"Just going for the physical huh?" Chris' face was flat.

"He doesn't really talk much, so I don't know much about him personally…" She shrugged taking a sip from her bottle of water.

"So, he's a psycho." Chris surmised.

"What? No!" Ren defended immediately, "He's nice, his job is to make sure I stay safe out there."

"You trust people to easily, not everyone is as nice as you are Ren." Chris sighed, "This guy could hurt you out there-"

"You know I can take care of myself in that instance." She shut him down quickly, "And he's had plenty of chances to hurt me already and he hasn't, so my trust isn't misplaced. Daryls a decent guy and he hasn't tried anything with me. Plus, you were the one who wanted me to stay out here, take the job."

"Before I knew you were going to be out there with this random hick!" He said.

She could tell he was angry because he didn't like her not being on his side, but she didn't care. She liked Daryl despite how awkward things could be between them most of the time. Standing from the chair she moved back to her bags and kept packing, "He's not a hick, that's mean."

"It's not mean, it's the truth, everyone from that area are hicks!"

"What area?" She moved back to the computer screen, her eyebrow raised, "The south? The mountains? The east?"

"Ren, come on, don't get defensive." Chris laughed it off, "You know you don't qualify in any of that, sweetheart."

She sighed, some days he was an absolute dick, but Hammond said that most guys were. "Hey, I'm tired and I have to get up early tomorrow. Have a good night."

She closed the computer before he could say it back. It was always rough when they were apart, they fought more and things got tenser, it would probably be even worse with the wedding planning. But it was only a couple of weeks then they would be back together, and everything would be fine.

* * *

**A/N: Be sure to let me know what you guys think! I'm still getting the hang of this AU thing haha**


	5. Chapter 5

One week in and she was sweating more than she should be for the time of year. The AC in the seconds tower was broken, and while she apricated Daryl saying he would try and fix it for her when he wasn't out hunting the pack, his muttering to himself just outside where she was working was like nails on a chalkboard. Her music only went up so loud on her phone and she could hear him over it. Ren knew it wasn't his fault, but god it was annoying.

Standing up after she started a processing request, she walked out of the tower and to the ladder.

"Where you goin'?" He asked.

"Bathroom." She turned over her shoulder and he bent down to grab his bow but she stopped him, "Daryl-" She calmed her nerves, "I'm fine, I can go to the bathroom by myself. I'll stay within yelling distance."

"Kay." He noticed her smile was forced, and he wasn't sure what was causing it. He heard her tossing and turning at night when she tried to sleep, he assumed it was from the heat, but the cot also wasn't that comfortable, but it was better than the floor which is why he'd said she could have the cot. She had a lot on her plate and not having AC probably wasn't helping her considering the amount of sweat pouring from her, so he looked back at the unit.

Ren walked through the forest back towards the truck, her bathroom spot was in between the two. Not that she really needed to use the bathroom all that much with the amount of sweating she'd been doing, but she just needed a moment of peace and quiet. If Daryl wasn't making noise, then she was having to be on the phone with someone to work on the system. She had barely had any silence in the past five days. The breeze, that was hot, rustling through the trees relaxed her. The sounds of birds and insects all made her anxiety and annoyance go away.

When she found the log she'd been using as a bathroom, she quickly went so this way she didn't get screwed over by having to go again soon. But when she was done, she took her time walking back, enjoying everything. By the time she got back to the ladder she felt much better.

Daryl heard her climbing up and noticed her smile wasn't as forced as before. She walked over to him, "How's it coming?"

He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Want me to take a look?" She asked.

"You got other stuff your workin on." This wasn't his type of thing to fix, but he'd feel to bad if she had to fix this thing too.

"Yeah, well, you make me food every day and also have to deal with the heat." She gave him another genuine smile, "Maybe we can figure it out together so we're both more comfortable."

The heat didn't bother him, but it did bother him how much it bothered her. He knew she wasn't used to it like he was, and she was stuck inside the tower which was a heat box. He nodded and moved to the side so she could look inside it.

Looking at it for a moment she said, "Can you hand me a screwdriver?"

He quickly reached for it and handed it to her, watching as she messed with where a wire was hooked. She then asked for him to hold something and he did, when she asked him to hold something else so she could get further in he had to move behind her, his arms on either side of her so he wasn't in her way. Daryl had tried to stay from being in this close of a proximity to her, he didn't want to make her worried or scare her. He didn't know what was wrong with him, he normally didn't linger on a woman when he found out she wasn't interested or available. But he found himself watching her sleep, wanting to make sure she ate, make sure she was comfortable. For some reason Ren got under his skin.

"A little bit more." He heard her mutter before she yanked something and her back went against his chest, something he tried to ignore, "This might be our problem, it looks like something got in here and chewed on the wire."

"Can it get fixed?" He asked.

"Yeah we should have the stuff." She smiled up at him and he looked down at her, his blue eyes piercing. Ren swallowed hard, not realizing the proximity they were in, "I'll go grab it, you keep holding on to that."

She slid out from under his arms and went over to the toolbox and grabbed the plyers before going inside to her bag and grabbing electrical tape. Taking a deep but quick breath she moved back in between his arms and twisted the wires back together before taping it over.

"Alright, let's see how it's doing now." Ren said as Daryl let go of the wires he was holding before putting the back end back together. As he plugged it in, they heard the click of it turning on and a wide smile came across her face, "Oh thank God."

Daryl couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips as she quickly made her way to the door of the tower. Following her in that direction he walked in to see her standing in front of it, the air from it hitting her skin and blowing her hair back. She turned smiling at him again, "Thanks for fixing it."

"You figured it out." He shrugged walking by her, but she put her hand up.

"Then it was a team effort, I couldn't have gotten back there if you hadn't of gotten all of that stuff out of the way." She kept that brilliant smile on her face.

He returned her high-five lightly, not saying anything. Laying back on his make-shift bed he watched as she sat back down and went back to work on the computer. He asked, "How's this one comin'?"

"Good. We should be good to head to the next tower in two days? This one had a lot of issues besides what I'm here for." She told him.

"I'll call it in that they should be ready for a drop soon then." He reached for the satellite phone Murray had given him.

"Okay." She smiled back. AC really can make a difference between wanting and not wanting to kill someone.

* * *

Two days later the system still wasn't up and running, she couldn't get it to connect, there was some kind of issue and she had no clue what it was. She could smell the smoke from inside as Daryl had a cigarette outside. She tried everything she could think of, she had been sent a link from home office to diagnose the issue and was waiting for it to download.

Getting up out of the chair she moved to the door and opened it, walking up to the banister where Daryl was standing and saw the pack on the bannister. Grabbing it she took out a cigarette and the lighter and lit it up, much to Daryls surprise. Laying the pack back down she realized what that probably looked like, "Sorry."

"Fine." He shrugged lightly. "You alright?"

"Downloading a patch to get this damn thing to work." She rubbed her face before inhaling, it made her nerves calm, "Please don't tell anyone about this."

"Who'm I gunna tell?" He tried not to chuckle.

"My fiancé?" She laughed realizing how ridiculous her request was.

"He want you to stop?" Daryl asked, they'd been talking a little more, but it was mostly him asking stuff about her, he thought she was probably uncomfortable asking stuff about him after they talked about their dads.

"Yeah I told him I stopped six months ago when we got engaged…which I did until now." She gave a shy kind of smile.

"Wouldn't have guessed you for it." He took another drag of his.

"Hey college is hard." She joked.

"Wouldn't know."

She waved it off, "It's not for everyone."

"Huh?" He wasn't used to that response. Normally people would roll their eyes at him for not having gone or would make a comment about how they weren't surprised.

"College isn't for everyone." She leaned on the banister taking another hit, "The world needs mechanics and plumbers and carpenters. If everyone got a degree then we'd all be smart as hell, broke as shit, with no bathrooms, no cars, and no houses. Doesn't sound like a very fun world to me."

"It ain't til ya get used to it." He told her and she looked at him with a raised brow. He pointed around to the treetops below them, "Out here you only got your legs to get around and the ground to sleep on. You ain't got a roof unless you're in a tower, truck only can stay on the trails for it, aint no bathrooms."

"Yeah but bathrooms are different for guys, anywhere can be a bathroom for you." She pointed out.

"For certain things." He returned her point and she laughed agreeing with him.

"You're right I guess." She finished laughing, taking a smoke break had been a good idea, "But moral to the story is, college isn't meant for everyone and that's just fine."

"Hmmhmm." He agreed, hating how much he had grown to like her, he might actually miss her when she goes back home. "Why'd you keep smokin after college?"

"Because life gets stressful." She gave him his usual shrug, "And I like smoking when I drink."

"I could get 'em to bring us some drinks to if that'll help you." He told her.

She shook her head as her phone started ringing, "I don't know how my job would feel about me drinking on location."

"They ain't gotta know." He looked at her, "And you don work all day."

"I'll think about it." She smiled answering, "Hey Conner, you got the link?"

He watched as she went back inside after putting out her cigarette. He'd have Murray bring him more just in case she wanted them.


	6. Chapter 6

Ren and Daryl were sat eating dinner in the third tower when her phone rang. Taking her plate of deer, that Daryl hunted himself, with her she moved to the desk answering it quickly, so it didn't stop ringing, "Hello?"

Daryl noticed she didn't put it on speaker and when he heard her next, he knew why.

"Everything's going good Chris."

He'd heard her and her fiancé getting into little spats over the fact that Daryl was out there with her, he knew Ren was telling the truth that her fiancé had nothing to worry about, because he didn't. At first Daryl would have gotten with her even if she was engaged, but now he respected her to much because of how hard she worked and how she clearly cared about the project, the environment, and just people in general. Even if it was the heat of the moment, it wouldn't feel right knowing that she was in a happy relationship, which is what she claimed it to be even if they did argue most of the time he heard them on the phone.

"No, we were just eating dinner…Yes, together because it was cooked at the same time…I'm not doing this again tonight. Did you call just to get your panties in a wad?...Well I'm glad the appointment is set, be sure to video call me, I can set up a wifi point to be able to see everything…Yeah I wish I was going to be there to see it too but everyone convinced me to stay out here despite the fact we're planning a wedding, including you might I add…" She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "It's only been three weeks and I told you it could take up to eight…Well you know what then Chris, why don't you pack your fucking bags, get on a plane to Georgia, drive up to the forest, hike out to where I'm at, and you keep me safe from wolves and hunt dinners for me like he does and then you'll get to spend that time with me instead of some guy I trust but you don't. But you aren't going to do that because you hate nature and being outside and I'm honestly starting to feel like you don't trust me either with these fucking check-ins. Goodnight!"

She hung up the phone and realized Daryl was sitting right behind her and that he just heard that whole thing. Closing her eyes tight she let out a sigh but then heard him say, "I won' tell him if you smoke when you're done eatin."

"I swear it's not normally like this. He quit his job and is working on a start up with one of his friends and with the wedding planning, it's just extra stressful right now." She grabbed her plate and went back over to the table, "We rarely fight this much."

He shrugged, "So long as he ain't hurtin ya."

"My uncle says he's to scrawny to hurt me. Which I don't know if that makes him like Chris more or less." She chuckled lightly.

"Doesn't have to be physical to hurt ya." Daryl restated.

"I know." She gave him a soft smile, slightly surprised because most people don't think of abuse as anything but physical, "He doesn't. Normally he's not the jealous type like this…but normally I'm not on a two-month long trip."

"With me." Daryl said the most important part.

"It's not specifically you…just the fact that you're another man." She tried to make it better, but it didn't really work. Sighing she took a bite of her food before saying, "The only other men in my life are my family, so Chris isn't really used to competition, not that he has any or anything, I don't look anywhere else other than who I'm with because if I do then I know I'm could hurt the person I'm with…"

"That's good of ya." He said, "Not many people are like that. Got that kind of loyalty."

He knew a lot of people who didn't. His dad, his brother, the guys his brother hangs out with, girls who are mad at their boyfriends and so they sleep with him, hell pretty much every girl he ever slept with had some kind of ulterior motive. She was completely unique from anyone he'd ever met, he might have to consider moving to where she was raised or where she lived now if people were like that there.

"I guess it's just the way I was raised." She smiled at him finishing her meal, "Now about that cigarette?"

"C'mon." He grabbed the pack and they headed outside.

* * *

"I can help you know." She said as they walked the half mile to the tower from the truck. He never let her carry any of the boxes that needed to get to the tower. Before he said it was too hot out and that she needed to conserve her water, but it had rained the night before and cooled off about ten degrees, fall had finally arrived in the forest even if it was late. She was thinking of asking her boss for a weather recorder to so that she could track weather patterns in connection with climate change.

"I got it." Daryl responded like normal.

She sighed, knowing it was going to take him at least three trips, he wasn't going to let her take anything up the ladder, and he was going to pretend like he wasn't exhausted afterwards. Ren didn't know what he thought he was trying to prove, or maybe he was just being a gentleman, or he thought she was weak. While she thought she should find it annoying he didn't let her carry anything but her own backpack, she found it more embarrassing because she was able to help she just didn't like confrontation enough to push the subject when he stopped her from grabbing anything else.

The tower came into view, standing high above the trees and Daryl motioned to it as he sat down the boxes he'd been carrying, "Go on up and get settled, I'll get the rest."

"Are you sure?" She felt really bad he did all the heavy lifting.

"Yeah, it's fine." He said and wiped his forehead before turning back to the trail.

She watched him start walking and she thought about something, "Daryl wait!" She called and jogged the short distance to him while grabbing her water bottle out of her back-pack's side pocket, "You haven't drank any since we left tower three."

"It's fine." He didn't want to take her water, it was hers. He didn't want her having to do more work than she needed to, her job was to fix the systems and then once they were up and running to install the solar panels. He didn't do much of anything other than track the pack of wolves that were still ahead of him and make sure they had food to eat. He didn't want to be dead weight to her.

She laughed lightly with a smile, "Drink some, it'll make me feel better about you doing all the work."

Daryl looked from her outstretched hand to her expectant face and sighed before taking her water bottle and taking a gulp. It was refreshing even if it was cooler outside now, it was still on the warmer side and the water was nice, and so was her smile at him drinking it. He handed it back to her, "I'll be back, go on and get up there."

"Alright." She still had a small smile and went to the ladder, climbing up it. When she made it up to the tower, she tossed her bag down, this one was a little bigger than the last two, but not by much. She never stayed in a dorm, but she figured this is what it must have felt like two people crammed into a ten by ten space. As she booted up the computer, she noticed something that she hadn't in all the other towers. A smile came across her face.

* * *

Daryl was making his way back with the second load, which was also the heaviest, and when he got back he was shocked to see none of the boxes from their first on the ground next to the tower anymore. He put down the boxes he was carrying and looked up to see Ren walking to the bannister with a smile on her face, "There you are."

"What happened?" He yelled up.

"Simple pully system, got them up with no problem." She tossed the end of a rope down, "Tie one on."

"What?" He was confused.

"I found rope, I can just pull them up, so you don't have to make a bunch of dangerous trips up the ladder." She tugged on the rope a little, so it bounced pretty close to the ground, "Come on, tie one on and I'll pull it up, it'll go quicker."

"Nah, it's fine." He didn't want her to hurt herself.

She took in a deep breath, readying herself, "Daryl Dixon you tie a box to the end of this rope right now."

She'd never been that stern with him before and he couldn't hide the impressed look on his face, "Yes ma'am." He replied taking the lightest box, which was still pretty heavy, over to the rope. He tied it on the end with the slack she gave him and decided he would just climb up and pull it up, because it was a good idea now that they had a rope, but this probably wasn't something she could lift on her own.

She watched and as soon as the knot was set, she started pulling on it. The rope was looped around two other parts of the bannister which helped with the weigh. Daryl hadn't even made it a third of the way up the ladder as he watched as it quickly and easily made its way up to the top of the tower and she pulled it onto the floor with the help of the rope. After a moment she tossed the empty rope back down to him, "Next."

They did this for all of them and when he finished with the third trip, he made his way up the ladder. He got up there as she was untying the last box. He'd known she wasn't very weak, but he didn't realize she was that strong. "Good job."

"Thanks. I told you we make a good team." She smiled at him standing up before coiling the rope back up, "I felt bad, you're doing all the work."

"No, I ain't." He told her, "You're doin' a lot."

She laughed, "I sit in a chair all day, you go out and actually do work. And don't try and tell me that they're the same because we both know they aren't, and we also know you aren't out there tracking as much anymore because you want to make sure I eat."

Daryl didn't say anything because she was right, he was tracking less because he wanted to make sure she was having dinner, and most days he would come back for lunch because he wanted to make sure she was eating that too. Instead he just sighed and picked up the box and carried it into the tower cabin with her following behind him.

Just like when they always got to the tower the first thing Ren did was unplug all of the old equipment and remove the ancient computer, before grabbing the box with the new computer and putting it on the desk instead, beginning to plug it in and make sure everything worked properly with the upgraded stuff.

She got so distracted into her work that he hadn't gotten the chance to get her to eat anything despite the fact she had just been talking about it so he would have thought it would have been fresh on her mind, but clearly it wasn't. He quietly went over and slid a sandwich in front of her as she hooked wires into the computer.

Ren smiled at the sandwich, "You're a sweetheart you know that."

"Stop." He muttered.

"Okay, but it doesn't make it any less true." She picked up her food and took a bite. Ren could tell he put up a tough exterior, that he didn't want people to think he cared, but she knew he did, and she liked it. He reminded her of her brother, could probably kill someone in a fight if they were mad enough, but would hate themselves for doing it. She had wondered on many occasions if his girlfriend was as upset about him being out there as her fiancé was, or if he even had a girlfriend, which if he didn't that would explain why he spent so much time alone in the woods. If she were single, she might too if her work wasn't electricity based.

He was good looking enough to have a girlfriend, he didn't wear a ring so he probably wasn't married, that and people tend to mention that kind of thing at least once especially considering he's been hearing her argue on the phone with Chris for weeks.

"Shit!" She was taken from her thoughts as a cord shocked her as she plugged it in, and she pulled her hand away in an instant.

"You alright?" Daryl came over and took her hand to look at it.

"Fine." She muttered shyly at his proximity, "Just a little shock."

"You sure?" He looked down at her, his eyes meeting her electric green ones.

The concern was clear on his face as they looked at each other and Ren couldn't think of the last time someone looked at her that worried that wasn't her family, not even Chris, but maybe Becca. It made her stomach go tight and she laughed nervously, "I should have been paying better attention, the wire is frayed. I'll tape it up before I try again."

"Alright." He let go of her hand and went back to setting up the rest of the small cabin.

* * *

**A/N: Be sure to let me know what you guys think! Thanks for reading so far!**


	7. Chapter 7

Daryl was marking on his map more areas of where he'd tracked the wolves and Ren was working on installing all of the programs needed for the system to run. They had the door open to the tower because while the sun was out, it was nice and cold outside which made the balance in the temperature just right.

Her phone began ringing and Daryl didn't pay any attention to it, he'd gotten used to the thing ringing multiple times a day, especially late into the evening due to the time difference from Georgia to California.

"Hey what's up?" Ren said as she put it on speaker like normal.

"Are you good to talk right now?" Becca asked, "Because I can call back if not. I don't want to bother you or anything."

Her best friend never rattled on unless something was wrong, "Becca? Is everything okay?"

"Fuck…No." Becca sighed.

"What is it?" Ren stopped focusing on the computer as much.

Becca groaned, "Okay so I'm going out tonight and I don't have anything to wear."

"Liar." Ren muttered.

"Shut up and let me finish." Becca was clearly having a hard time with this so Ren complied, "I remember that cute little blue dress you have a decide that would be cute to wear and I head over to your place to go and get it right?"

"Right." Ren agreed, then got worried, "Is my apartment okay? Did something happen?"

"The apartments fine…" Becca trailed off.

"But?"

"But I walked in on Chris and Veronica on the couch fucking." She blurted out.

Daryl turned his head quickly and looked at Ren who's face went pale. Her voice shook slightly, "W-What?"

"Fuck, I'm so sorry Ren. I…I didn't know how else to say it." Becca's voice sounded like she'd been deflated.

Ren didn't speak for a moment, trying to comprehend what had just been said. She started to reach for the phone but couldn't touch it for some reason. She didn't want to take it off of speaker, but at the same time she did. There was a banging sound in the background on Becca's end and then Ren heard him.

"Becca, come on! Let's talk about this. Ren doesn't need to know!" Chris was heard yelling.

"Fuck off prick! I already told her!" Becca yelled back.

"Shit!" Chris was heard.

"Wait are you still there?" Ren asked.

"Hell yeah, I grabbed an apple from the damned fruit bowl and chucked it at him mid thrust before running and hiding in your bathroom!" Becca told her.

Ren couldn't help but laugh a little at her friend, "You're the best damn friend I've ever had."

"I'm the only best friend you've ever had." Becca responded like normal.

"Yeah, I'm starting to realize that." Ren muttered back.

"Shit, that's not what I meant."

"I know." Ren half smiled to the phone even though her best friend couldn't see it. The phone started to buzz again, and Ren sighed, "He's calling."

"Fuck him up." Becca told her before Ren switched the call.

"Ren, look, I don't know what Becca told you but it's not true." Chris started.

"Yeah then what happened?" Her voice was sharper than Daryl had ever heard it, in fact he'd really only ever heard her sound happy.

"Becca came over and I was working, and she started flirting with me." He told her.

Before he could say anything else her voice got loud and she could feel her nails digging into the desk, "Oh fuck off!"

"What?" Chris asked.

"I said fuck off! Becca's been cheated on twice and she would _never_ cheat on Greg. And she would never lie to me!" Ren tried to remain level despite how furious and hurt she was, "Get the fuck out of my apartment."

"You can't-"

"I can." She said, "I'm calling the building manager after this and telling him your whore ass has one week to get all of your shit out and that Becca will tell him what that shit is. Once you leave you are not allowed back into the building and once Veronica leaves, if her dumbass hasn't left already, she's not allowed back to help you pack."

"So you're just going to drop everything we have? Just like that? Over one mistake?" Chris sounded offended.

"Was it just once?" Ren asked him back, but he didn't answer, "Exactly. Keep the ring if you want. I don't fucking need that kind of negativity in my life. Prick."

She hung up the phone and Daryl just stood there. He'd never expected anything like that from her, she never seemed the type to talk to someone like that, but it was nice to see her stand up for herself at least. Her shoulders were tense, and she didn't know what to do, she could feel him standing there behind her, she'd never had the phone on speaker before when Chris called. It felt good to have Daryl hear it though for some reason, because he always looked concerned after. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard in their silence, which Daryl finally broke by asking, "You good?"

"Yeah." Was all she responded, going back to her work.

Daryl watched her for a moment before looking back to the map, he didn't talk much about things like that, so it wasn't right of him to worry about her for not wanting to talk about them. She didn't talk for the rest of the night though. She didn't stop working either. He'd made her food which she just picked at while she sat at the desk and when night came he laid down on the floor and waited for her to go to the cot, and when she finally did he heard her sniffle quietly, but nothing else.

* * *

It had been two days and Ren had barely spoken, pushing herself into her work like she always did. This tower was almost done in record time though. She heard Daryl climbing up the ladder. He hadn't really pried, he would just tell her when their food was ready and that was about it. Normally that was the thing he started on when he got back, but instead today as he walked in she heard him shuffling through the drawers behind her.

Turning slightly to see what he was doing she saw red down his arm and realized it was blood, "Oh my god! Are you okay?"

Daryl had barely heard her say anything since the phone call with Chris and he was a little shocked at how loud she was as she rushed over and took his arm. Her soft hands felt weird on his arm, but he nodded finally finding the first aid kit, "Fine."

"Are you sure?" She reached to take the kit from him. He looked at her confused as he held onto it, not quite sure what was happening. Ren looked back up at him, "You can't take care of this with one hand…you might even need to go back and have a doctor see this."

"Ain't that bad. Plus, I ain't leavin' you out here." He said finally letting go of the kit, not wanting to argue with her with how bad he still felt about what had happened, not that it was his fault, which made it even more weird that he felt bad, because normally he didn't even if it was his fault.

She pulled him over to the cot and they sat down as she worked on the gash on his bicep, she wasn't sure if it needed stitches but since he'd said he wouldn't go back she wasn't going to force the issue. Grabbing a sanitizing towel from the kit she wiped the blood from his skin. She tried to be as gentle as possible, this wasn't her area of expertise, but she at least had steady hands. He glanced over at her as she concentrated on the wound, how much care she was putting into it, but he looked away as she bit her lip. Ren asked, "What happened?"

"Fell." He answered.

"On what? And why?" She looked up at him.

"Found fresh tracks and went after 'em. Didn' watch my footin'." He told her. He felt the light touch of an ointment on his skin and looked down to see her carefully putting some disinfectant on the large cut. "You're good at this."

"I'm okay." She smiled, "My brother gets hurt a lot."

"Why?"

"He teaches mixed martial arts, and before that did martial arts. He got banged up a lot." She explained.

This was the first smile he'd seen on her face in days. He missed her being happy like she normally was. And Daryl knew her brother typically made her happy, "What's he like?"

"Teddy bear with a glare and tattoos." She laughed as she took thin pieces of medical tape and moved the wound to be less large. "I've seen him take down men twice his size and I've also had him kiss my knee when I scraped it learning how to use rollerblades."

"Sounds like a good brother." A lot better than his was he had to admit, but Merle was still his brother regardless.

"Best brother I could have gotten." She started putting a bandage over his arm.

When she started to wrap tape over the bandage he looked down at his bicep and asked, "How much stuff you gunna put on there?"

"Well I'm sorry I don't want you to go back out there, get an infection and die." She chuckled at him and he broke a small smile, "I kinda like you, ya know."

"Yeah?" He almost laughed.

"Yeah. It'd be real lonely out here without you Daryl Dixon. I'm glad you were willing to put up with me." She gave him a shy smile as she finished wrapping his arm. When she was done, she got back up and went over to the computer again.

"Hungry?" He asked, putting up the first aid kid.

"I could eat." She responded.


	8. Chapter 8

They were on the fifth tower and only had three left after that to set up before she could install all of the solar panels and such on them. It'd been almost six weeks that they'd been together, and they were very used to each other at that point now that she was more herself after the news of Chris cheating on her. Daryl noticed she still worked a lot, but she would stop and eat meals with him and sometimes come outside and have a cigarette.

He was working on his map for the next day of tracking and she was finishing up her work for the day when her phone began going off. She groaned, "Dammit."

"Is it him? I'll answer it." He turned to look at her.

"No, it's my brother. I told him I'd call to tell him what I thought of the venue Chris was supposed to look at yesterday." She picked up the phone and stood, leaving the tower to talk to her brother. "Hey."

"Hey, I thought they gave you a satellite phone so you don't lose contact with the outside world." Hammond said.

"I'm in the outside world technically." She tried to pass the joke off. Daryl could hear her side of the conversation despite her being outside, but he couldn't hear her brother since the phone wasn't on speaker.

"So what did you think of the arboretum? Was the signal good enough to see everything you wanted to?" He asked.

"About that…" Her throat got tight, this was the scariest part.

"What happened? You didn't like it? Or did Chris forget?" Hammond asked, then muttered, "Of course he did, to damn busy with his own start-up to think of you or the wedding."

"There isn't going to be a wedding." She blurted out. This was the first time she'd said it out loud. Daryl walked to the other side of the tower cabin, grabbing the pack of cigarettes, waiting, knowing she was going to need one after the call.

"What do you mean?" Hammond asked, "What the hell happened?"

"Becca…" She started, she hadn't talked about it at all in the four days of finding out, "Becca found him in my apartment with someone else."

"WHAT?" Her brother yelled, "I'm going to kill him. That scrawny punk is fucking dead!"

"Hammond, stop." She tried to say because normally she hated it when her brother got like this, but this time it made her smile slightly.

"No! Who the hell does he think he is? He thinks he can mooch off of my baby sister and then go tramping around town?" Hammond got angry, then his voice went soft, "Fuck, I'm so sorry baby girl."

"It's okay." She looked down at her feet as she pulled her jacket closer around her. It was getting colder by the day the less of fall there was.

"Is it? I mean how are you holding up?"

"I'm focusing on my work like always." She knew how she was when bad things happened.

"Are you eating?" He asked.

"Yeah, Daryl makes sure that I eat."

"Daryl?"

"Yeah, you know the guy out here with me? The one that's supposed to keep me from being wolf kibble?" She reminded him.

"Right, yeah, I just didn't know that was his name." Hammond told her. "So, he's looking out for you?"

"Mmhmm, he really sweet. I honestly don't know what I'd do out here without him." Ren almost laughed, it was true. Daryl wasn't at all what she'd thought she would need in that moment, but it turns out he was. He didn't push for her to talk about it, he was just there if she needed anything, and he didn't look at her any different, which she could never tell quite what the look in his eye was when he looked at her, but at least it hadn't changed. "I got lucky that he was out here with me."

"That's good then. I'll have to thank him one day." He said. "Do…do you want me to tell dad and the others?"

She hadn't thought about that, just as much as she hadn't thought about telling Hammond. As far as she was concerned, she didn't want to think about it at all. Ren sighed, "Would you please?"

"Of course." Her brother responded, "I'll let you get back to work. Love you."

"Love you too Hammond." She told him. When she hung up the phone she heard the noise of the cabin door opening. Turning she saw Daryl coming out and lighting two cigarettes, handing one of them to her. She smiled, "Thanks."

"Thought you might want one." He said leaning on the bannister. Daryl tried not to think about what she'd said about him, but with her standing next to him, that's all he could think about. Nobody had ever called him sweet before and truly meant it like she did.

Ren moved to be leaning on the bannister too before leaning her head on his upper arm. She swallowed hard, "This okay?"

"Yeah." He replied.

They stayed like that as they smoked, only going inside when it started to rain.

* * *

The next day the rain had gone from a slight sprinkle to a full-blown storm. Rain was beating down on the roof of the tower and thunder would shake it every now and then. Daryl had been trying to keep himself busy since he hadn't gone out to track with the storm. Ren however was still attempting to work. But it wasn't working at all.

She hit the enter button multiple times, each one harder than the last then finally slammed her hands down, "Shit."

"What's wrong?" Daryl asked looking from the map on the wall of the forest, which at this point he had memorized, just like he had his map of the tracks.

"I think the storms blocking the signal. I can't do anything." She fell back into the chair, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Take a break." He suggested.

"I can't." She sighed, "If I do then I'll think about it."

Daryl didn't say anything because he understood, he had things he didn't want to think about.

"It's always been like this." Rens voice was soft, "I always avoid thinking about bad stuff that happens by working on something." She half laughed at herself as she looked at the window that was being pelted with rain, "I even did it while my own mom was dying. My aunt too."

He sat up from his position on the floor and leaned against the wall, "I never had nothin' to keep my mind away from it. Just made me hate everythin more."

"You don't hate everything." She gave him a small smile and he looked at her as if she didn't know what she was talking about. "If you hated everything you wouldn't be out here with me."

He nodded, "Yeah, I don hate you."

"That's good to know."

It was like she wanted to talk but she didn't know how. He didn't know what else to do, "When'd your mom pass?"

"I was six."

"What happened?"

"She got cancer. Doctors didn't catch it in time so there wasn't much they could do other than help the pain." She told him, "My aunt and uncle took me during a lot of it. My mom didn't want me seeing her sick like that. Didn't want me to remember her like that."

"Must've been hard." He said.

"I don't really remember to be honest. I mostly just remember building a computer." She couldn't stop her laugh. Daryl smiled at this, he liked her laugh, most everyone else's laugh annoyed him, especially Merles, but not hers. It was beautiful.

He tore his eyes away from her. He couldn't think of her like that, not right now, not anymore. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her more than she was already hurting, and he knew if he tried anything, he would end up hurting her. So instead he went a different route. "Mine died when I was eight. Got home from school and there were firetrucks, the house was gone and she was gone with it."

"Holy shit." Ren couldn't imagine. She also found it weird he was sharing something like this with her but she liked it, he was easy to talk to and easy to listen to. "I'm so sorry."

"She was probably doped outta her mind." He admitted.

"Still doesn't change the fact that it's shit." Ren turned her body to face him, "You weren't expecting to lose her that soon or that way. So, I'm sorry."

"You weren't expecting to lose your mom neither. So, I'm sorry too." Daryl saw her rubbing her shoulders as they spoke and he decided to ask, "Neck hurtin' again?"

"Huh?" She wasn't sure what he meant.

"You've been rubbin your neck and shoulders since you got here." He told her. If it made her feel better it was the least he could do, "C'mere."

Ren slowly stood up and walked over to where he was sitting on the floor. She didn't know why being in such a close proximity to him made her stomach tight, but it did. He motioned for her to sit with her back facing him and when she was settled his put his hands on one of her shoulders, massaging it.

He felt her stiffen slightly at his touch, "That okay?"

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt to much." Which it didn't. It actually felt really good and she started to relax as he worked, him touching her like that was mostly the reason she'd gone tense though. She wasn't expecting it. She could feel his hands working on a knot that he found and when he got to the back of her neck, she could feel the callouses on his hands, but they weren't rough, and actually felt kind of good. "You're really good at this."

"Don normally do it to someone else." He told her, "Glad it's helping."

"It is." She had a small smile. She did get damn lucky to be stuck with someone like him instead of anybody else.

* * *

**A/N: Be sure to let me know what you guys think! It's a weird challenge writing these two in the real world haha**


	9. Chapter 9

It had been another day and it was still raining, but not thundering as bad at least. She still couldn't get signal on the computer though. But that wasn't her only issue and she'd had enough, "I can't do it anymore."

"What?" Daryl sat up from his laying position watching as she stood, putting on a jacket.

"I have to go to the bathroom." She told him, "I can't hold it anymore and I'm not as lucky or fearless as you are."

He tried to not smile at her last statement, and he started to stand, "I'll come with you."

"It's fine." She headed for the door, putting the hood up.

"You'll get soaked." He gave one last attempt, he wasn't going to push to hard when it came to privacy like this.

"I'll get soaked whether your there or not." She grabbed a flashlight and headed down the ladder, already getting soaked through her jacket.

Daryl waited inside the tower. He listened to the beating of the rain and knew that she was going to be cold more than likely when she got back so he pulled the heater out and a spare blanket. Stopping when he heard a sound, he moved towards the door, opening it and listening again. When he heard the wolf howl for a second time, he ran to the bannister not caring about the rain to see if he could spot Ren.

She had heard the wolf and cursed that this would be the time that the pack Daryl was tracking would show up. Not when she was up in the tower of course. She heard him calling her name and quickly pulled up her pants. Grabbing the flashlight, she stopped when in the distance she saw reddish brown fur and golden eyes staring at her.

Daryl couldn't see her tracks from up there, he didn't know which way to look for her so instead he started climbing down the ladder, he'd be able to get an idea from there. He needed his bow though just in case. Running back in quickly he grabbed his weapon and when he got back out, he heard her yelling his name.

She was close, she knew she was close, but the wolves were on her heels. Ren ran with everything she had and when she broke out of the tree line she ran straight for the ladder. Daryl was already aiming his crossbow at the pack and when Ren was out of the way he shot. She heard a whimper and wanted to turn back to look but couldn't.

Her fingers grabbed onto the rungs of the ladder and she started making her way up. Her foot slipped when her other shoe was grabbed by the sole by one of the wolves. The wet rungs made her almost lose her grip too, but she clung to the ladder as she tried to get back up with a wolf connected to her leg.

Daryl leaned over again to try and get the wolf off of her, but he didn't want to risk hitting her. She had no other choice. Moving her free leg up she slammed it down on the wolf's head and it fell, her shoe along with it, and given the sting, maybe part of her foot too. Using all the strength she had she pulled herself up the ladder mostly with her arms, using her good leg every now and then to give her a boost.

When she was close enough, Daryl grabbed her arm and lifted her up the rest of the way, the two of them falling back onto the floor, rain pouring down over them, his arms tightly wrapped around her. He took her cheek and asked, "You alright?"

"I kicked the poor thing." She said.

He wanted to laugh at her, but he was still to worried about her. They could both still hear the wolves down below, but they paid it no mind. He helped her up and brought her inside before going back out and bringing the ladder up, so the wolves didn't claw at it trying to get to them. Walking back in, he looked at her. She was drenched from head to toe. Her hair was tussled and stringy, some of the strands in her face, and her button-down shirt was soaked despite being under her jacket. Her jeans were dripping, she was missing one shoe and not putting much weight on the foot that was missing it.

Quickly he grabbed the blanket he'd gotten out and walked over to her, wrapping it around her before pulling it tight. He helped her over to the cot and she watched as he looked at her foot, "Ain't deep, just scratched ya. It'll hurt for a day or so though."

"Okay." She nodded and he proceeded to wrap her foot for her. She watched him as he carefully took care of her, for some reason her stomach was in knots. When he was done, he noticed she was still shivering so he turned on the heater and gently pulled her from the cot down in front of the heater. She looked at him, "What about you? You're soaked too."

"I'll be fine." He told her but the look in her eyes said she wasn't going to let it go. "I'll be there in a minute."

He went back outside to check for the wolves and the pack had pretty much wandered off without anyone outside to go after. When he went back inside, he sat next to Ren in front of the heater, but she was still shivering. He wasn't sure what else to do to help her get warm, but then she put some of the blanket on him. Daryl looked at her confused and she said through shivers, "You're cold too and there isn't another blanket."

"You're to nice, you know that?" He told her.

"I've been told, among other things." She answered scooting closer to him so more of the blanket was on him. They were shoulder to shoulder and so he put an arm around her so that way she could get more of the blanket back without it looking like he had less.

"A wolf bites you and you get upset that you kicked it, you're freezing, and you share your blanket…" He looked down at her.

"They're critically endangered." She said then asked him, "Did you kill it? The one you shot?"

"Nah." He looked away from her, from those damn green eyes looking at him with the damp hair around them, "Knew you wouldn't like it. Just hit 'em enough to slow 'em down."

"You were worried about me." She tried to hold back her smile. Daryl rolled his eyes and kept from looking at her and she couldn't stop her laugh, "You were! I was raised by four men, I know what the protective worry look looks like."

"You need to start worrin' more about you." He looked back at her, "Your boss treats you like a trophy, you were lettin' a man live with you without contributin' anything, you care more about the wolves that were gunna eat you than about the fact they were gunna eat you, and you focus to much on your work you don take care of yourself."

He was looking at her like that again and she was starting to realize what it was, and why she liked it. "You weren't at all what I was expecting on this trip."

"You ain't what I thought you would be neither." He told her, "But it don't change the fact you need to look out for you, world ain't that nice to nice people like you."

"If I did that though, I wouldn't be on this job." She responded, her voice was soft with a smile, "You think I wanted to come here and do this? Because I didn't, but they needed the best and they said that was me, so I did as I was told…and I met you."

"From now on then." He pushed the blanket back onto her but didn't move his arm from being around her.

"Okay." She said as she leaned up, her fingers on his cheek, as her lips met his.

Daryl froze despite the fact he'd wanted this before, he just never expected it to happen, and not like this. When she quickly pulled away, he looked down at her, still slightly shocked, "Why…why'd you do that?"

"Because I wanted to." She answered simply, a heavy blush across her face, "Because I like the way you look at me."

Ren saw as his eyes moved from hers to her lips and back. Getting up on her knees she leaned into him again, her hands on his shoulders. She could feel his hand on her back, gripping it slightly, his other one still on the ground next to him. He shouldn't do anything, he should stop her from making a mistake, but her fingertips brushing against his neck were sending chills down his spine, and hand that was on the ground moved to her face, pushing the locks of hair out of its way, cupping her neck as he leaned up, meeting her halfway.

The kiss, which at first was static, became heated. His fingers gripped at the back of her neck as she pulled herself onto his lap, their mouths opening more. Daryl felt her trying to move the blanket off of them and he helped, but their mouths never once separated. He wanted her closer, he wanted to feel as much of her as he could since he'd only ever been able to look.

With the blanket gone, she pressed herself against his chest, he was warm, solid, and his arms around her made her feel safe despite being in no danger, it was a strange feeling she'd never experienced before, and she liked it. A slight moan escaped her as their tongues met, moving against each other, and soon their hips were too. Ren couldn't understand how she wanted him this badly all of a sudden, but she did, and she could feel underneath her that he wanted her too. Quickly pulling her hands from him, she tossed off her jacket.

Daryl knew what this meant, and even if he wanted to stop, he couldn't. She was like a damn drug, the way she touched him, he was aware of every finger and the ability it had to send shockwaves over his skin. Lifting her up slightly, he cradled her head as he laid her down and moved atop her. God, he wanted her, he wanted every inch of her, and being on top of her made it even more apparent.

She started undoing the buttons on his shirt and Daryl took this as his cue to proceed with her shirt too. Once his was undone he was working on the still wet fabric and peeled it from her damp skin. He had to hold back a growl as their skin touched, if it were anyone but her, he'd have ripped her clothes off and gotten what they both wanted by now, but he didn't want her to stop him, not anymore, all he wanted now was her. His hand moved around her back to her bra and unhooked it, removing it from her swiftly.

Breaking away from her mouth, he moved down her neck and chest, finding her breast and the erect bud on it, causing her to gasp. Her fingers tangled at his hair as he sucked and lightly tugged at it, her thighs gripping at his hips, grinding them together. With every nip and suckle she could feel herself getting wetter and wetter and feeling him through his pants wasn't enough. Reaching between them she undid his pants, sliding her hand in and wrapping it around his hard length.

He let out a moan as she stroked him, his ability to hold himself back was getting harder and he moved his hand to her pants and made quick work of the button before starting to pull them off of her. With her hand removed from him, he was able to think a little clearer as he tossed her pants and underwear to the side. As he pulled off his own, he reached for his bag, thanking anything and everything he hadn't taken Merles condoms out of there and he pulled one out.

Ren's mind was a blur as she pulled his mouth back to hers while he put the condom on. One of her hands went to his back and she felt him tense, so she quickly moved it to his shoulder, his muscles relaxing again as he began to line himself up with her. A pool of anxiousness and heat was in her lower stomach as she felt him against her entrance and when he pushed in, she gasped at how hard he was inside her.

Stopping after the thrust, Daryl took a moment to steady himself inside of her. She felt perfect, better than any other woman had before, better than he'd ever thought anyone could feel. Her fingers gripped his skin tight as he began to move finally, her breathing heavy with the pleasure he was bringing her. Ren moaned as he gripped her hip, moving her thigh up so his thrusts could reach deep inside of her.

Daryl broke the kiss, his head against her shoulder, as he lost himself in the way that she felt, sweat bubbling on their now hot skin as she arched her back to him, his name leaving her in a whispered moan. She was already getting close, every thrust pushing her closer to the edge and she'd never cum this soon before, but she wasn't complaining at all as she tightened around him, her fingers pressing into his shoulder.

He pushed through her orgasm although it had felt amazing enough to make him cum, but he couldn't stop. Not yet. She was intoxicating to him in that moment and he knew he'd never have this again, so he wanted what he could get while he had the chance. His lips trailed her shoulders and neck, kissing and nipping at her soft skin, skin he'd looked at many times, skin he'd wanted to taste and was now finally getting the chance.

Clinging to him as he increased his pace and moved his arm under her back, she knew she was going to cum again soon. It'd been a while since she'd came more than once. She spoke through heavy breaths, "Daryl…Daryl I'm going to cum again."

Her tone almost made him explode, the whine dripping with ecstasy. He moved back to her mouth, tongues meeting as they both neared their ends. Feeling her start to tighten around him again, stronger than the last time he knew he was going to cum, but he was determined to make it through hers, he wouldn't do that to her, she deserved the fucking world and he'd be damned if he was going to cut off her orgasm.

He let out a low moan as she finished and he finally came, his fingers gripping her tight. When he was done, they both laid their catching their breath. Neither of them knew quite what to do. Ren reached over and turned the heater off and Daryl took this as his cue to grab his pants, which he quickly slid on.

As he headed towards the door putting his shirt on Ren took the chance to put her damp clothes back on too. Standing up on shaky legs, she couldn't believe that just happened, but she really liked it. He was already outside with a cigarette and she opened the door just enough to get out without pushing him to far into the rain.

Daryl handed her the pack of cigarettes as they huddled underneath the small awning and he tried not to look at her swollen lips or tousled hair, it would just make him want her again, even more than he already did. She didn't know what to say, she wasn't used to situations like this. Should they talk about it? Should she tell him how much she enjoyed it? Anytime she caught him looking at her, he would quickly look away, so she looked away too.

When they were done, they both went back inside and awkwardly Ren laid down on the cot and Daryl took his spot on the floor, and they went to bed without saying a word.

* * *

**A/N: Be sure to let me know what you think! This kinda crept up on me then all of a sudden I was writing it haha**


	10. Chapter 10

Waking up it was relatively quiet. She'd gotten almost used to the sound of pounding rain. Rolling over she saw the tower was empty, outside there was a dense fog and a light misting of rain now. A shiver ran over her as she reached down and turned the heater on. The rain had brought the real cold. Standing up and going for her bag to change clothes she felt the soreness in her legs from the night before, but she wasn't complaining. Daryl had left without a sound, normally he does something to let her know he's leaving, but not this time.

Tugging on her jacket she flipped on the computer, letting it load as she went to the door to the balcony area. She could see the tops of trees and a little bit of the ground through the fog, but not much. She definitely couldn't see Daryl if he were around. Her breath was visible as she sighed, did he regret the night before? Ren could see why he would, she'd just broken up with her cheating fiancé, he might feel like she used him.

Going back inside she sat down at the computer, finally able to make a connection and started work for the day, attempting to not let her mind wander to Daryl.

* * *

He knew it was going to be dark soon. He was staring up at the tower, when he'd first gotten there Ren was standing outside, looking around. Daryl figured she was probably looking for him, it had been dinner time and normally he was back before then. But instead he'd been standing there, waiting and watching the tower in the fog, not knowing what the hell to do. He shouldn't have had sex with her, he knew he shouldn't have but he couldn't stop himself. It made him feel guilty, a guilt he had never felt before.

Looking up at the tower he thought about how she'd gripped him, how she'd moaned his name. No one else he'd ever been with had sounded like she had. He'd never let his shirt get taken off before, at least not all the way, but with her and those damn hands of hers he hadn't cared at all. And he'd just gotten up and redressed as if nothing had happened. He was horrible to have done that to her. She probably thought that he was taking advantage of her in her emotional state. Which he probably did.

Knowing he couldn't stay down their forever he broke through the tree line and climbed up the ladder. When he walked in, she was sitting at her desk eating from one of the prepackaged meals that was always kept in the towers. She turned and gave him a small smile as she took a bite. Daryl gave her a small nod but then had to look away, somehow she looked prettier than she had before. He went to get himself something to eat, not knowing exactly what to do.

"Hey...so, um…" She started but then realized she had no clue what she should say. She'd had all day to think about it, but did she? No, instead she just kept thinking about him on top of her. God this was going to be fucking awkward. "I was wondering: Are...are we going to talk about last night or just pretend it didn't happen? Or how is this going to go?"

"Huh?" Was all he could respond, he didn't expect her to bring it up this soon.

"Because I don't want you to think I used you or anything like that." She couldn't stop her mouth, it's just spilled out and Ren knew she should have never said anything in the first place. "Because I didn't. Use you. Or at least that wasn't my intention if that's how you feel. Which I-"

"You?" He stopped making his food and turned to look at her finally, "Used me?"

"Yeah." Her face felt as if there wasn't any blood in it, but she was sure there was considering his damn blue eyes were staring right at her. "I jus- I just don't want you to think that it was all about me."

"Nah." He shook his head, "You didn do nothin wrong." Daryl could see her let out a slight breath of relief, but he kept going. She'd spilled, so it was only fair he did too, "I did. I shouldn'na done that. It wasn't right of me."

"What do you mean?" She stood from the desk, a confused look on her face.

"You just broke off your engagement, you ain't got no one but me out here with ya and I go and do somethin like that, it ain't right."

"Daryl, I started it." She almost let out a laugh.

"Yeah, but I shouldn'na gone with it. I shouldn'na let you make that mistake." He told her.

"So last night I need to make my own choices, stand up for myself, and do what I want, and today you're getting to decide that my choice last night was a mistake?" She asked, her tone wasn't angry or agitated, she was more confused and just wanted to understand where they were at. "Or are you saying that it was a mistake for you?"

"You deserve better than what happened last night." He looked away from her, the confusion and slight betrayal on her face hurt him more than he'd thought anything could.

"Really? Because I haven't had sex that great in over a year. So, I'm fine with what happened." She took the pack of cigarettes and headed outside, "Maybe take your own advice and find out what you want is. I'm considering us as alright, like last night never happened and things are still normal. You can let me know otherwise."

Daryl watched her walk outside, he was glad she wasn't regretting the night before at least, and very clearly taking his advice, both of which made him feel slightly less guilty. He sat down on the floor with his food. She was right though, he had to think about what he wanted, because being around her, he knew he was going to want her again, and he had to figure out if he was okay with that.

He stayed there until she came back in and sat down at the desk to keep working. Finally, he said it, "Things ain't normal."

"Why?" She spun around in the chair to look at him.

"Cause I can't look at you without…" His eyes wandered down her body.

"I know. Me too." She kept her eyes on his face.

"You deserve-"

Ren cut him off, "Who gives a fuck about what who does or doesn't deserve? You don't feel like I used you. I don't feel like you took advantage of me. Were both consenting adults in the middle of a fucking forest by ourselves."

"Ren?" He was a little worried now, "You alright?"

"No, I'm not alright!" She answered him tossing her hands up, finally not caring anymore, "All I've been able to think about all day is the way you fucking felt last night and here you are worried about who the fuck is worthy when you are the last goddamn person I expected to care." She got down off of the chair and moved in closer, kneeling down in front of him. "So, if things aren't normal, what the fuck are they?"

He watched as her green eyes searched his face. God he just wanted to grab her and roll her on the floor again. But he didn't, he tried to answer her, "I don know."

"Then what do you know?" She asked, her eyes holding his.

"I liked the way you felt too." He told her.

"What do we do?" Ren sat back onto the floor in front of him, her face slightly fallen.

"What do you wanna do?" He'd never been in this situation before. He'd never had someone want him more than once, had someone enjoy being with him the way she did.

"Whatever the fuck we want to do." She shrugged. Ren had never had sex outside of a relationship before, she had no clue how this worked or if what she was doing was completely wrong, but she'd been frustrated and knew it would only be worse the longer they went without figuring it out.

Daryl couldn't do it any longer, if she didn't care, why should he? "I want you."

"God I want you too." She lunged forward and he wrapped his arms around her as she moved onto his lap, their lips meeting vigorously.

* * *

They laid on the floor, covered in sweat, the windows were covered in steam as they caught their breath. Daryl kissed up her shoulder, tasting the salt on her skin as he went. She smiled, "I think my productivity is going to go way down."

"Nah, it won't." He nipped at her neck, "I don wanna 'em to bring you home yet. I ain't done."

"Oh yeah?" She laughed, looking at him as he pulled away from her skin, "What else are you going to do?"

He didn't answer her, instead he caught her in an open-mouthed kiss. Rens fingers tangled in his hair again, their tongues moving against each other. His thumb ran over the bare skin of her hip as he squeezed it. Daryl knew exactly what he was going to do, he really liked the face she made as she came, and he was going to see it one more time before they went to sleep.

She gasped as his hand moved in between her legs again and when his thumb began circling her swollen button, her fingers gripped him tight. His name came out of her in a shaky whisper that dripped with want as her eyes were pressed closed. She'd already orgasmed four times throughout the course of the night and she was already so close to another one. Daryl watched as she bit her lip, quiet whines escaping her as she got closer. He had no clue why he liked it so much, seeing her cum, bringing her this type of pleasure when he'd never really cared before with the other girls, but seeing her swollen bottom lip caught in between her teeth as her back arched against him, was beautiful.

Pressing her head against his shoulder after her orgasm rolled through her she tried to catch her breath again. He ran his hand over her hair and asked, "You wanna cigarette?"

"I don't know if I can even stand up after that." She answered him with a breathy laugh.

"Well I ain't carryin' ya." He couldn't help but smirk.

She laughed lightly as he moved off of her to get his clothes and as he put on his shirt, she saw the marks on his back, her smile fading some. Ren wondered if those were why he didn't like to be touched there, she probably wouldn't either depending on how they'd gotten there. He was out the door by the time she managed to sit up and get her shirt back on. Underwear and pants were a completely different thing, her legs were jelly and it was the best damn feeling ever. Standing up, she stretched slightly before starting to walk to the door.

"Shit." She muttered as she got outside and the cold air hit her, she'd forgotten it was really cold now. Pulling her arms tight around her she went over to him. He let the smile show as she stood next to him and shifted so her bare feet weren't on the cold floor for too long. Lighting the cigarette she took a hit and they both stood there quiet, the only sounds were of the insects in the trees. Finally, she asked, just because she wanted to be sure, "Should I ask about your back or just continue to not touch it and not bring it up again?"

"The second one." He answered after a moment of silence and she nodded.

"Okay." She took another hit, she wouldn't bring it up ever again if that's what he wanted. He was only slightly surprised that she let it go that easy, but she was never one to pry before, he didn't know why he would think she would start now.


	11. Chapter 11

Having made it to the sixth tower it was just like he'd said, her productivity hadn't gone down, in fact it might have improved since she was sleeping better, typically exhausting herself before bed. Daryl still went out to find the wolves so she worked the whole time he was gone, she felt like she was getting more done now than she had been before when working was the only thing that kept her mind off of her break-up.

Getting up from her desk she refilled her coffee mug, stepping over their makeshift bed on the floor. Since they both couldn't fit on the cot comfortably they'd asked for more blankets to be brought out, using the excuse of how cold it was. Which it wasn't a lie, it was getting colder for being the beginning of October, but they mostly kept each other warm. She would be done with this tower the next day and knew that there were only two more left, and once those were done Rangers would be able to stay in them again while she installed the solar panels and protection system. Since the Rangers could be out there…she technically wouldn't need Daryl anymore.

Sitting back down in her chair she looked back at the bed of sheets. Ren had never known how nice it could be to sleep in someone's arms until she woke up in Daryls. She'd never really liked facial hair either, but she actually liked the feeling of his against her skin. She knew that at some point they were going to go their separate ways once she was done with the towers and went back to California, she just never thought it would come as quick as it was. It was probably only two weeks at this point. She had to push the thought from her mind.

Her phone started ringing and she looked back at the desk, hitting the speaker button after she answered, "What's up?"

"Just seeing how you were doing out there." Becca said.

"Well it could be worse." She sighed.

Becca chuckled, "And how's that?"

"I could be stuck out here with Chris and Veronica." Ren smirked.

"Very true. God how could he even stand to have sex with her. Her voice is already so high pitched." Becca laughed.

"Trust me he's not much better when he cums." Ren told her.

"I thought you said he was good." Becca almost sounded offended.

Ren pointed at the phone even though she was alone in the room, "He was when you asked, but you asked when we were first having sex."

"Wait so he got worse as time went on?"

"It's like he got complacent." She laughed, "Like his thought was 'well, as long as we both get off'."

"Wait, so what is he like when he cums? Because you can't just lead me on like that and not tell me."

"Imagine the noise he would make if Hammond punched him in the stomach." Ren said and her friend busted out laughing on the other end of the line.

"God, I want to hear that but from your brother _actually_ punching him in the stomach." Becca said through her laughter.

"Trust me if Hammond had his way, you'd get to." Ren laughed along with her.

"Fingers crossed on that one."

"So, why'd you call, because trash talking my ex can't be it." Ren leaned back in the chair, kind of enjoying the break from work for once.

"No, but it's along that vein." Becca told her, "I know you're really good at compartmentalizing, but that doesn't mean this isn't effecting you. I wanted to make sure you were actually doing as good as you seem."

"Yeah." Ren thought about it, "Yeah I really am. I think the fact that I'm not home and so things aren't normal are actually helping, because there isn't a change to my day to day."

"That make sense." Becca replied, "So does that mean that things will be rough when you get home?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Ren tried not to think about the sheets behind her on the floor. "I had been considering getting another apartment in that building, so I might look at that, see what other floor models they have so this way there's an entire change from life with him to life without him."

"Free of him, it's life free of him." Becca told her, "And I think that's a good idea. We can make it into a sweet pad for you to bring hot guys home and then you can give me all the dirty details and I can live vicariously through you."

"You know I don't do that." Ren laughed, "And I'm going to tell Greg you asked that of me."

"Eh, he won't care, he gets the same thing from his brother. We're now that boring couple that just stays home and watches tv all night now." Becca overexaggerated her sigh.

"Hey that's a very safe thing. One night, Chris and I went out and we met this girl that wanted to start a business with him and that apparently led him into her pants." Ren heard Becca laugh.

"Wait! Isn't there some guy you're out there with?!"

"Yeah, Daryl."

"Yeah, Daryl." Becca repeated in a mischievous tone.

"What about him?" Ren laughed again.

"He's perfect rebound material." Becca explained, "It's just the two of you, you both release some carnal needs, then you never see each other again when the jobs done. It's fucking perfect."

"It's fucked up. He's a really nice guy and I would feel bad using him like that." Ren told her. That's what she'd been afraid of Daryl thinking when they first started sleeping together, but it wasn't the reason she slept with him, plus the fact she wasn't liking the whole never seeing each other again thing. But Becca was right it was inevitable. "I think I'll just continue getting my kicks from imaging Veronica and Chris living in her tiny ass apartment with three other roommates."

"If you say so." Becca had a smirk in her voice, before getting distracted, "Hey I gotta go, Justins doing his walk arounds."

"Good luck." Ren laughed as her friend hung up. She continued working and heard when Daryl got back and smiled as he came in the door, "Welcome back."

"Yeah." He walked over to the map. Ren stayed seated but followed his walk, spinning the chair as he moved across the room, normally he at least said thanks.

"Everything okay?" She asked him.

He hesitated, "Found the wolf den."

"That's good isn't it?" She walked over to where he was leaning over the map. When he looked up at her she understood from the sad look in his eyes, "They plan on killing the wolves don't they? Because they attacked people?"

"Yeah." He stood up and put a hand on her shoulder as her eyes went sad, "Sorry."

"Bu-But that species is endangered, I looked it up when I found out that's what you were doing out here." She looked back at the map, "It's not their fault that humans go into their territory, they shouldn't get killed for that, and hell they're probably used to scavenging campgrounds for easy food with the messes people typically leave behind. There has to be something-"

"Ren…" His voice was soft and she looked back up at him, "The world just don' work like that."

"The worlds always been different for me…" She looked away, out the window. Daryl knew what she meant, her life hadn't been normal in the sense that everyone else's had been. He actually related to her someway in that sense. "Are…are you going to be the one to do it?"

"What?" He asked.

"Are you going to be the one killing them?" She turned back to him, her face slightly harder, hiding the fact that she was upset.

"Nah." He shook his head, "Ranger's gotta do that. I just track 'em down."

"Oh…okay." She walked back over to the desk, a distracted look on her face.

"I'll wait until they come to drop off more supplies for us to tell 'em though." Daryl offered, "Let the wolves have some more time."

"Thanks." She gave him a small smile.

* * *

Ren had prepared herself for this, she wasn't going to let this fly. Finishing packing up her stuff she took a deep breath before walking out of the cabin and climbing down the ladder. Murray was talking to Daryl, "So the West Path to the seventh tower is typically out this time of year, so you probably want to be taking the North Path."

"Sounds good." Daryl replied, noticing Ren toss her bag in the back of the truck, a focused and stern look on her face. He knew she'd heard him telling Murray about the wolf den, so he also knew she wasn't happy. When she slammed the door of the truck shut the two men stopped for a moment and looked at her as she leaned against the back of the truck. Daryl looked at the man, "Maybe we should get going."

"I don't think we should." Ren turned to look at them.

"North Path is a long one, you don't wanna be unpacking in the dark." Murray smiled at her.

"I don't know that I'll unpack at all." She told him.

"Huh?" Murray was very confused at her tone, Daryl however should have seen this coming, he told her to stand up for herself and what she wanted after all.

"Don't kill those wolves." Ren said, her voice stronger and more sure than she'd ever heard it.

"They're hostile to humans and have caused serious injuries, it's protocol in this situation, ma'am." Murray explained.

"I don't care what your protocol is. The wolves must have had a reason for moving into territory they don't typically go into." She stepped closer to him, her arms crossing. Daryl watched as she stood tall, honestly, he was weirdly proud of her. "I don't think they should be punished for that."

"Unfortunately things don't work like that." Murray started to open his mouth again but she cut him off.

"They do now." She was stern. "You all are getting a state-of-the-art protection system put into all of your towers to _protect _this forest. What's the point in protecting it if all of the things that live inside of it aren't alive anymore? So, I should just call my boss and have him decide to put this system in another forest instead of yours."

"You can't do that. We've already told the state of Georgia that we're going to be fully operating off of the grid. People are already wanting to camp out here." Murray shook his head at her, "This will be great for the towns economy, you can't just stop."

"I can and I will. Find out what the source was for the wolves moving out further, why they attacked a campground. Fix that issue. Because that issue will affect the whole ecosystem. And if you lose the ecosystem, then it doesn't matter how many people want to camp out here because the forest will die." Ren told him.

"What're you some kind of ecologist too?" Murray looked her up and down.

"No, my mom was. Relocate the wolves to another part of the forest, another pack will move in and by that time happens, you should have the issue fixed so no more attacks happen. Wild wolves don't just run up on people for no reason." Ren stood her ground, "Either that or I'm telling my boss and going home."

Daryl's chest went tight at those words, she would really go home, he'd never see her again. He didn't want that to happen yet at all, "She's right Murray. No huntin' limits means less prey for them so they move further out lookin and find food left at campsites, they learn it's a place to get meals regularly, they get braver and then they attack."

"You know you're one of those hunters Daryl." Murray looked at him, ignoring the small smile on Ren's face at Daryl siding with her.

"I know. I'm willin to hunt less if it means this don change out here." He leaned against his truck, "Means more years of huntin I'm able to do."

Murray looked between the two of them before running his hand down his face and sighing, "Fine. We won't do anything with the wolves until we address the issues at the campsites and find a suitable place for the animals to be relocated since they already know the way to get to the sites."

"Thank you." Ren gave him a sincere smile and he couldn't help but smile back as he waved her away.

"Go on now. Get to the next tower before it gets dark."

Letting out a small laugh she opened the door to Daryls truck and climbed in. He wasn't far behind her and once the vehicle was started she looked at him, "Thanks for choosing my side."

"You're right about it." He shrugged, "Ain't fair to them when people are the ones messing up."

"I know…but still you didn't have to. So, thanks." She gave him a big smile.

He let out a slight laugh, his lips curving a little as he moved onto the dirt trail and muttered, "Welcome."

* * *

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY! My hard drive crashed and it's been in the shop for weeks and they managed to repair it but I lost a bunch of stuff on it. So while I'm back, the chapters might take me a bit because I lost the outline I had for this story and now I have to re do it and cross check it with what's already been written to make sure everything is still accurate. But I should hopefully not lose anymore progress on it before it's done haha. **

**Be sure to let me know what you guys think. Be back with another chapter soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

Ren nuzzled in closer to Daryl as she woke up, a chill going over her skin as her dream left her. A small smile went across her face as she felt him pull the blankets tighter around her. It was weird to her, how close to two months ago she was sleeping in the same bed as her fiancé, but they barley touched, and now with Daryl, a man she was just sleeping with, she was wrapped up in his arms. She could feel his thumb moving gently over the nape of her neck, and despite the rough texture of his hands, it was such a soft gesture, one that someone wouldn't probably expect from him just by looking at him.

He knew she was awake, he'd been awake for about an hour, he typically woke up before her but now with her always sleeping curled up against him, he couldn't bring himself to get up before she was awake. She was the first person he'd really ever woken up to, most of the time if the girl he was with stayed the night one of them just woke up and went on their day, but since the first time he'd woken up to Ren asleep next to him, he couldn't do anything but stay with her until she woke up. The first morning he'd just stared at her. Watched as her chest moved slowly up and down, as her lips were parted slightly, and her eyes fluttered under her eye lids every now and then. She was stunning in so many ways, even now as he couldn't see her face, since it was against his chest, he used his hand to feel the skin of her back and neck, slowly learning every part of her. Something he didn't understand why he was doing it, but he couldn't stop himself.

Finally, she stretched against him, her naked body sliding against his in the process. When the stretch was done going through every muscle in her body, she looked up at him, "Morning."

"Mornin."

"It's colder than yesterday." She said.

"Mmhmm." He agreed as he pulled the blanket tighter once again, because it also pulled her closer to him.

She put her head back against his chest, her hands by her face so she didn't accidentally put them around his back, "Are you going out today or staying in?"

"Was gonna go out for a bit, check and make sure the wolves ain't moved any." He looked down at her, and thinking she normally didn't ask this, he wondered, "Why?"

"It's getting to cold for how thin your jacket is." She looked back up at him, "Don't want you to freeze."

"Yeah?" He held back a smile.

"Yeah." She leaned up, "Because then how would I stay warm?"

"Then I won't freeze." He said before moving a lock of hair out of her face.

"Good I would hate for frostbite to take the important things." She smirked.

He held back a smile, "Isn't it all important?"

"Well yeah, but if you have to choose, fingers are more important than toes."

"And what's more important than fingers?" His eyes were locked on hers.

"I would say your nose because it rhymes." She whispered before hooking her thigh over his hip. Her nose brushed against his as she said, "But we both know that's not the answer I'm thinking of."

His hand cupped her ass as their lips met. He squeezed the soft skin as he pulled her as close to him as he could get. He paused before he slid his tongue into her mouth, "How much you gotta do today?"

"A lot of downloading, nothing I need to concentrate hard on." She breathed out, her fingers pressing against the back of his neck.

"Then I don need to go out." He replied, his mouth covering hers again, tongue meeting hers as the kiss deepened. Every now and then she would wake up in this mood and he never complained, it wasn't a bad way to start off his day at all, but he still wondered why she wanted him so much sometimes. He figured it was the fact that she seemed to really enjoy the sex, but on days like today, the way her fingers gripped at him, how she pressed her skin against his, how her tongue caressed his own, all in ways no one else had ever done, is when he was really curious.

Ren felt the tightness in her lower stomach and knew she wanted him, she wanted him bad this morning. Her dream hadn't been of him, it'd been of her back home, waking up in her own bed next to Chris. The moment she woke up and realized it wasn't true, she'd felt relieved it had been Daryl's arms she was in. Gently she pushed him on his back as she reached for his bag, grabbing a condom. Daryl was only slightly surprised, she'd never taken charge before, but as he felt her hand sliding down his chest he wasn't going to stop her.

Once she put the condom on him, she held his length, sliding it inside of her, letting a moan out into his mouth. Slowly she ground herself on him, she'd never been on top and she liked how deep he went into her. Breaking their kiss, she sat up, allowing him all the way in as she started to ride him, her hips moving like a wave. Daryl watched as she pushed her hair back out of her face, feeling her hands on his stomach as she moved. His fingers gripped at her thighs, he'd always liked having sex with her, but seeing her like this, sleep still on her face, hair falling over her shoulders, cold air making her nipples hard and creating goosebumps across her skin, he wondered if he'd ever enjoy sex with anyone else, if anyone else would be as radiant as she was in that moment, if anyone would ever make him feel the way she did.

He moved her hips slightly and she gasped at where he hit inside of her now, her fingers pressing against his skin. Part of her felt guilty some days, because she was glad that Chris had been cheating on her, because if she hadn't she wouldn't be having some of the best sex she'd ever had, but it made her wonder if that meant she really was using Daryl. He touched her, and fucked her, in a way no one else ever had. Sometimes she wouldn't even consider it fucking, sometimes he explored her, his mouth finding parts of her body that no one else had ever been, and she never wanted him to stop, sometimes she wanted him to be the only one to find those spots.

Looking down her eyes met his and she felt herself tighten around him, her fingers gripping him as she came. She'd thought she'd spend the rest of her life with Chris and she never thought she'd be glad about waking up naked with someone other than him, but she was, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Veronica could have Chris, she had something better. Ren leaned down over him, her fingers tangling in his hair as she reclaimed his mouth. She didn't stop moving on top of him and he held the back of her neck, keeping her down at his level so he could explore her mouth with his own.

* * *

Ren looked at the truck that was twice as full as normal. She'd decided just to knock out both the upgrade and the install for the eighth tower all at once, so the delivery team didn't need to make another trip out there, plus she knew it would give them a few more days. The others would be working on getting all the other stuff to the other towers now that there was a functioning network at them while she was finishing up the last upgrade.

She helped Daryl get everything to the bottom of the tower and her fingers stung from how cold it was getting, but she would have to deal with it since she couldn't wear gloves while working. Honestly, she just hoped it would wait to start snowing until she was done since that might stall her progress until after winter.

Once everything was in the tower Daryl went over and turned the heater on as he watched her blow warm air on her hands. Grabbing a blanket, he then took her arm and pulled her over to the heater. He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders before putting his arms around her waist and pulling her to the ground to sit in front of him as they both warmed up by the heater.

Leaning back, she tucked her head under his chin and curled up into him. Their silence spoke volumes about how the knew their days were numbered, that soon it would no longer be just them in the forest, that he wouldn't even be there at all. Ren nuzzled into him, closing her eyes, the warmth from him and the heater, plus the exhaustion from getting everything to the tower, hitting her all at once. She didn't know how she found him so comfortable, but she did. Sleeping without him in the tower was going to be hard, plus with a ranger in there with her, she probably wouldn't sleep at all.

Daryl could feel her falling sleep in his arms and he didn't mind. He enjoyed just being with her, something he'd never experienced before. He'd been trying to figure out a way to stay out in the forest with her, but he hadn't yet. He was going to help relocate the wolves so he could visit her after that was done, but he was sure that he wouldn't be able to touch her with any of the rangers around, to be able to hold her like this. She probably wouldn't want anyone to know that this had even happened. She would probably forget about him the second he was gone. A smile tugged at his lips, it was a lie he was telling himself, she wasn't the type of person to just forget another human being, she hadn't even forgotten about her fiancé. He had no clue what he was going to do without her, but he'd managed before, he would have to again. Because he knew he couldn't ask her to stay with him.

* * *

**A/N: I know this one was mostly set up, but this is what came out for some reason when I started writing this chapter and I decided that I wanted to include, so I hope you all enjoy it :) Let me know what you think, loving the reviews so far!**


	13. Chapter 13

They were back at the seventh tower. She was checking the boxes to make sure everything was good before climbing up onto the roof. Blowing on her hands quickly before lifting up a panel to see underneath it she put it back down when she heard Daryl clear his throat. He wasn't looking at her. She knew it was time for him to go, and she would be with the ranger at this tower, Robin, a very talkative woman from what Ren could tell.

He stepped forward and held something out to her, "Here. For when you ain't working on small stuff."

Reaching out she took the bundle from his hands and saw a pair of gloves wrapped around a cigarette pack. She held the box up, "Will you bring me more when I'm out?"

"Shouldn you quit before you go back home? Won your friends be mad?" He asked.

"I feel like I have a pretty good reason for starting up again." She felt a smile on her face. "You're helping to relocate the wolves, right?"

"Yeah." He answered.

"When you're done…let me know how they are?" She asked and he nodded. Ren smiled a little wider, "I'll be waiting with bated breath then."

"Huh?" He couldn't help the tug at the corner of his lip.

She laughed at herself, "I'll see you soon…Daryl."

"Yeah." He nodded before turning to the ladder. "I'll check on your rental while I'm in town."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Ren watched him as he went down before putting the gloves on and the pack in her pocket, then returned to the solar panel. She didn't look over the banister as she heard his truck start a little bit away, she didn't think she'd be able to see it anyways. Sighing, she knew she shouldn't miss him, it didn't make any sense to, it was inevitable. She'd just gotten used to him being there.

"Wowie, you two sure had a lot of blankets. Did it really get that cold up here?" Robin came out of the tower.

"Yeah." Ren didn't look away from her work, "Plus it made the floor softer for sleeping on."

"He had you sleep on the floor?!" Robin almost scoffed.

"No." Ren covered her tracks, "No, he slept on the floor, I felt bad about it, so I asked for more blankets for him."

"Smart thinkin'. I don't care how we do the sleepin thing, but the blankets will certainly help whoever is on the floor."

She'd been used to sleeping on the floor anyways, "I'll take the floor, I had the cot the entire rest of the time."

"Alright, but just let me know if you want to trade, I know how you Californians are about equality." Robin laughed at herself.

"Ha." Ren tried to force out a laugh too, but it was hard, "Yeah, we…uh…we like things equal."

This was going to be a long week, maybe if she focused really hard, she could have everything new installed for the protection system and be on to the next tower with hopefully a quieter ranger…or even get Daryl back.

* * *

He'd only been able to visit her for about an hour or so since she had work to get done, but he'd let her know that the wolves had been successfully taken up north, none of them had been injured and that they should be settled in before the harshness of winter was there. She was glad that he'd been on the team to help do that and he'd just been glad it made her happy. The days they'd been out there were long, and they felt even longer not having been able to see her at the end of them. He just needed to get used to not having her around again, then he would be fine.

Ren had wanted to ask him to stay, but she knew that there was no reason for the rangers to have him out there if they were out there, no point in paying two people. Plus, he probably had things to do, he'd been gone for two months. She was barely sleeping, even two towers after he'd left. Maybe her own bed would be the difference, she wouldn't miss him as much there.

She'd watched him leave from the roof of the tower as she drilled the panels to it. The Ranger for this tower came out, and looked up at her, "Must have been fun out here with him for two months."

"What do you mean?" She asked him, she couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, but from the sounds of it, he wasn't.

"Dixon's not exactly the nicest or most welcoming person. Probably wasn't the best company." Matthew sipped his coffee, "Not for someone like you anyways."

"He was fine." She grunted out as she undid a latch on the panel, feeding the wires to the antenna. "Helped me when I needed help, left me alone to do my work when I didn't."

"Well I'll be sure to do those things for you too little miss." He smiled at her.

_Clearly not if you're still talking to me._ Hiding her eye roll she tried to give him the hint she didn't want him around or to talk about Daryl anymore, "Well I'll be sure to let you know when I need help."

"I'll watch, make sure if you fall that I catch you." He kept his grin.

She wasn't going to fall. It was the fourth tower she was working on. She remembered guys like this from college though, and they were annoying as hell. Ren didn't warrant him a response, she just focused on what she had to do, hoping that by the time she finished, he would be inside asleep, or at least have gotten the hint.

* * *

Sitting in the tower she was soldering together the connections for the panels to the sensors when she felt a hand on each of her shoulders, rubbing them. Fucking Matthew, his advances were getting worse and every time they made her feel sick, especially now, "Please don't do that."

"You look tense." He said, his thumbed moving across her shoulder blades and up towards her neck. She leaned forward, trying to politely get his hands off of her.

"I'm dealing with very hot things, I need to concentrate." She leaned over her work now, trying to bend out of his grasp, but his hands didn't leave her.

Matthew followed her down and whispered in her ear, "Come on now, it's just southern hospitality." She knew southern hospitality, Daryl had way more of it than this guy did, and this wasn't anything near that. Her body was stiff, mind going through options as he said, "Tell me you haven't been lonely. Stuck out here with that stupid tracker, then having to put up with Robin and Mary. You've been out here practically alone for some time, and a lady like you shouldn't have to be alone."

She could feel his hands going down her back and around her waist despite the fact that she was sitting down, and her jaw was tight as she spoke through gritted teeth, "Get you hands off of me. _Now._"

"Just a little fun, won't take long. Have you back to your work in no time." His hands started moving towards her chest and she snapped.

Her elbow went into his chest and he got knocked away from her and she said with almost a yell, "I said hands off!"

"Bitch!" He back handed her.

* * *

Daryl was at his house, or at least it was the current place him and Merle were able to stay at. It was sort of an apartment, but it could have also been a motel. Merle was still serving time, so it was just him and he was bored as shit. He almost wished he'd never found the wolves, then he'd still have something to do. But he also knew if he found them after Ren left, then they would be dead. He sighed, almost everything he thought about, saw, or heard made him think of her.

He didn't get it. No one had ever stuck with him like that. No one but Merle. But Merle was his blood, his family, so of course Merle would pop up in his head a lot. But why the hell was Ren? It was probably because he'd spent so much time with just her, sort of like how he spent all that time with just Merle. The sex might have something to do with it, he'd never slept with anyone like her before, and never in the way that they had before, and never as much as they had before. He'd spent two months with her, he'd guess it'd take more than two weeks to not wonder how she was doing.

A crash in the apartment next to him distracted him, two voices yelling at each other, the couple in there was probably still arguing about the same thing they were arguing about when he'd left for the forest. All they did was argue. He felt bad for their kid, sometimes Daryl would pass him sitting on the stairs while his parents were fighting inside. It quieted down for a moment and then Daryl heard a knock on the door. It was probably the wife, coming over with a black eye or bruised lip, asking to borrow whatever it was that her husband had just broken, half the time they didn't have it. Daryl and Merle rarely cooked in their kitchen.

When he opened the door though, it was Murray. Daryl tried not to be surprised, "What?"

"Somethin's happened out at tower five." Murray said.

"Ren? She alright?" Daryl quickly moved around the apartment grabbing his things.

"I don't know, I just got a call that something happened out there between her and Matt." Murray watched as he threw stuff out of his way, "Figured you lasted out there with her for two months, you'd know how to deal with her."

"Ain't nothin to deal with." Daryl said moving out the door, "She ain't a problem."

Daryl slammed the door and headed for Murrays truck, not even looking back to see if the man was following him. If something happened, something enough for them to call headquarters, it was enough to make Daryl worry. She didn't even need them called when she'd been bitten by the wolf. His chest was tight despite his rapid heart rate. He didn't know what he'd do if something had happened to her.

* * *

**A/N: Gotta have some drama in there! Sprinkle it through out to keep it interesting haha. Let me know what you guys think!**


	14. Chapter 14

When they pulled up to the tower path Matthew was at his truck waiting on them. He was holding a patch of snow to his eye and Daryl could see a bright red mark on his neck. The man walked up to him, "That bitch is fucking crazy."

"What the fuck'd you do?" Daryl squared up to him, "She ain't never done shit til she got stuck with you."

"Daryl, just go see if you can talk to her." Murray pushed the two of them apart.

Despite the fact he wouldn't mind putting the prick in his place, looking at his injuries made him more worried about Ren, she'd felt bad about kicking a wolf that was trying to eat her, what would have made her hit this guy? He made his way to the tower, Murray and Matthew going much slower behind him, and when he got there, he saw that the ladder was up. He yelled out, "REN!"

Waiting, he saw as she came out and looked over the banister and lifted the ladder down for him. When he climbed up, she was already back inside the tower and when he walked in, she was sat back at the desk, working on programing the board. Daryl walked over to her, "You alright?"

"Fine." She answered back not looking at him.

"Liar." She would have smiled at seeing him, just like she had last time if she were fine. "What happened to Matthew?"

She shrugged.

"Ren." He reached out to her, taking her chin to make him look at her. Not only did she flinch away from his touch, but he also saw the busted lip and bruising around it. "He's dead."

Her eyes went wide as the rage on his face appeared and he was back out of the door and sliding down the ladder before she could call after him. She called his name as she made her way down the ladder, telling him to wait as he made his way to Matthew.

His fist was against the man's jaw before she even made it to them though. Murray tried to separate them as Matthew tried to fight back but Daryl wouldn't back down, hitting the man again and again. Ren screamed his name and he stopped punching and instead grabbed the man by the collar and pinned him against a tree. "The fuck'd you do?! You fucking touch her?!"

"She's the bitch who hit me first!" Matthew yelled.

"Because you wouldn't get your hands off me!" Ren yelled back and Daryl punched the man again.

"Stop it! All of ya!" Murray yelled firing off a round in the air.

Daryl stopped hitting Matthew but didn't let him go. He held him against the tree still trying to debate about whether or not he should kill the guy.

"Now Matthew what the hell happened?" Murray asked. "You hit her?"

"She fucking started it!" Matthew pointed at her.

Daryl slammed him against the tree "You don't fucking look at her."

"She doesn't belong to you." Matthew smirked, "So you can't tell me what to do."

"She don't belong to no one, she ain't property." Daryl got in his face. "Rapist piece of shit."

"I didn't fucking rape her!" The man defended.

"But you would have. If I hadn't hit you." Ren crossed her arms, she swallowed hard. "I told you three times to stop touching me. And when you didn't…"

"Is that true?" Murray asked him.

"Maybe the animal here rubbed off on her while they were out here." Matthew looked at Daryl.

"Shut the fuck up!" Ren yelled at him.

"Murray you really gunna defend this fucker?" Daryl asked him.

"Daryl let him go." Murray said. Daryl gripped the mans collar tighter, "Dammit Daryl, let him go!"

Daryl shoved him as he let Matthew go and took a few steps back to still be in front of Ren. Murray ran his hands over his face before looking at Ren, "You wanna press charges or anything."

"I just want him gone." She replied, feeling slightly sick.

"Alright." Murray waved Matthew over to him. He then looked to Daryl, "Do you mind waiting until another Ranger comes out here?"

Daryl shook his head, "No other rangers. I'm stayin'."

Rens head swung up to look at him, her chest tight, hoping he meant until she was done with all of the towers.

Murray sighed, "Daryl we don't have the budget for-"

"Fuck the money." Daryl almost growled, "Just want her to be safe."

"Alright, just let the other towers know when you're on your way there, and they'll get out of your hair." Murray gave them an awkward smile before turning Matthew around to walk back to where the trucks were.

When Daryl turned around, he was shocked as she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him for a moment. She quietly said, "Thanks." Before letting him go and going back to the ladder and up it.

He followed behind her and when he got into the tower she was back on her computer. Going over to the fridge, he grabbed a cold bottle of water and went over to her. "Here."

"I'm fine." She responded, not looking at him.

"Hey." He knelt down, gently taking her chin to try and turn her to him, "It'll swell if you don't ice it."

"Its fine." She didn't look at him despite her turned head.

"Ren. It's alright." Daryl said.

She looked at him and when her eyes met his they started to water, and her lip started to quiver. Forcing herself to look away from him she quickly stood up and walked towards her tools and wiped her eye. Her voice was shaky "I'm fine."

He stood up and watched her as she ran her hands through her hair. He heard her take in a shaky breath and then muttered, "What the fuck is happening?"

"What'd'ya mean?" He asked.

Her voice cracked "My fiancé cheats on me and then some guy assaults me? What the hell is this? Why all at once? What's wrong with me?"

Tears started streaming down her cheeks and Daryl moved over to her carefully. He wasn't the best at dealing with people when they were like this, but she'd never been like this before, and he'd honestly been worried about it the first time when she wasn't about her fiancé. But he guessed it was all coming out now. He put his hand on her back and she turned into him, her head in his chest as she started to cry. Unable to stop himself, he wrapped his arms around her, his hand stroking her hair as she sobbed.

"Ain't nothin wrong with you." He muttered against the top of her head, and he would know considering all the things that were wrong with him. She was amazing, but he was too afraid to tell her that. So instead he just did what he thought was best and held her until she calmed down.

* * *

She'd finished her work for the day and was happy that Daryl was there, despite the fact that she'd cried like a five-year-old in front of him, but she felt safe again. He'd left her to work, not bothering her any other than to make sure she ate and to check her lip and bruises. Ren had heard him moving behind her and when she turned around after finishing programing the board, she saw he'd made their bed on the floor again.

He was already laying on it and didn't look at her as he said, "You can sleep down here if you wanna, if not cots all yours."

"I'll sleep down there…I might actually sleep some then." She let out a laugh.

"Didn sleep well last night?" He asked.

"Barely slept at all with Matthew around. Gave me the creeps from the very beginning honestly." She moved from the chair and sat down on the sheets.

"How'd…how'd you get him outta here?" He'd honestly been wondering.

She laughed again, "Well after he wouldn't take his hands off of me, I elbowed him. And when he hit me, I happened to be holding my soldering iron and went for his neck and then hit him back. I don't think he thought I would fight back, so when I did, he didn't know what to do."

"Your brother teach you that?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, took my first punch when I was twelve so I wouldn't be shocked the first time I ever actually got punched." Daryl gave her a concerned and confused look and she smiled, "Don't worry, he didn't hit me. It was part of a class. But he did make sure that after that I could hurt a man twice my size…He tells me that I'm too nice, that even though I want people to be as nice as I am, that I should never expect them to be…because people try to hurt nice people like me…I knew he was right, I've just never really experienced it before."

"He cares a lot about you." Daryl said, "Sounds like a smart guy."

"He is. He'd like you." She held back a smile.

"Yeah? Why?" Daryl asked.

"Because you don't hesitate to do what's right." She told him. "You saw my lip and immediately went into action. Hammond likes people like that, not the people that just sit back and watch, or record it on their phones."

"Well I ain't gotta phone."

She laughed, "Of course you don't…do you at least have a cigarette though?"

He nodded grabbing his bag, "C'mon."

Ren followed him out and he pulled two cigarettes, lighting them before handing her one. She took it from him, holding her arms close to her body despite wearing her jacket. He knew it had gotten a lot colder than when they were together before and so he shrugged off his heavier jacket.

"You need somethin thicker." He draped it over her shoulders.

"Yeah, I didn't think we'd be out here this long, so I didn't bring anything else." She said pulling it tight over her shoulders, "But aren't you going to get cold?"

"I'll be fine 'til we go back in." He told her, "You can wear it while you're workin too."

"Thanks." She smiled at him. Moving in closer to him she leaned her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arm around his. Her voice was soft, "Thanks for coming back…I like it a lot better with you around."

He felt a heat in his cheeks, so he didn't look down towards her. No one had ever said that to him before. And someone like her was the last person he expected to say it, or they would have been before he met her. All he responded with was, "Mmhmm."

* * *

**A/N: Be sure to let me know what you guys think! I always love writing an angry protective Daryl!**


	15. Chapter 15

"So, how's everything going?" Hammond asked.

"Good. Two towers left. Not as cold as it is up there yet." She told him as she pulled Daryls jacket closer around her. She was outside the tower when her brother called so she put it against her ear to try and keep it warmer.

"At this rate you should just make a quick pit stop on your way home for Thanksgiving." He joked.

"I wish I could, but I have to go to the office to make sure that all the data systems are receiving everything right." She smiled, "But I'll be back for Christmas for sure."

"Dad'll like that." She could hear her brother smile, "Are all of the Rangers treating you nice?"

"Actually, I'm back with Daryl…me and one of the Rangers didn't get along so well." She avoided telling her brother everything, lest he fly down and murder the man for real.

"What happened?" Of course he would want to know.

"Nothing major, just some safety issues while working. So Daryls back to make sure nothing happens to me." She tried to convince him.

"Well that's good. You seem pretty fond of this guy." Hammond said.

"He's…" _Caring. Thoughtful. Kind. Sweet. Protective._ But she couldn't say any of those words to her brother. He'd ask more questions. "He's able to tell the difference between all of the wrenches I ask for."

"That's such a high bar." Her brother said with a sarcastic tone. "Look, I'm not trying to suggest anything, just that it seems like you…you know, are going to miss him."

"You don't spend three months with only one other person and not miss them when you're apart." She laughed, "But yeah, I think I'll miss him."

"You're going to have to go back to do updates and tests right? Get his number so you guys can catch up when you're in town." Hammond suggested.

"Who is this and what have you done with my big brother?" Ren asked with a smirk on her face, "Because the one I know would _never_ tell me to ask for a guy's number."

"_As friends_. I think it's too soon for you to get back in another relationship." His voice went into big brother mode, "You need to recoup, focus on you, your work, go out on a lot of dates, see what other kinds of guys are out there. I'm just saying you and him, work well together and it might be worth keeping in touch."

"Yeah, okay." She picked on him.

"Don't you have work to do or something?" He asked, picking back on her.

She laughed, "You called me!"

"You didn't have to pick up." He defended.

"Fine, I'm hanging up now."

"Alright, good. Have fun with your wrench knowing companion." Hammond laughed.

"I will have fun with him! Loads of fun!" She held back a laugh.

"Talk to you soon Brainiac."

She hung up with him after saying good-bye and turned to see Daryl standing behind her. Laughing slightly embarrassed she rubbed the back of her neck, "Sorry, we get really weird when we haven't seen each other in a few months."

"How longs it been?" He asked.

"Going on seven now." She put the phone back in her pocket.

"Ain't seen my brother in five." He told her.

She looked at him, "You never told me you have a brother."

"Ain't like yours." He shrugged, Merle and Hammond were probably the most opposite two people could be, except for maybe him and Ren.

"Not all brothers are they same type of brothers." She laughed, "I knew people in school that didn't get how I could put up with Hammond."

"He don seem that bad." Daryl said, "Cares a lot about you."

"Yeah. He does." She couldn't help but smile. Climbing back up onto the roof she asked, "So where's your brother been?"

"Jail." Daryl was honest, he didn't know if she would have a problem with this or not, but he knew she wouldn't give him a hard time about it at least.

"Oh." She wasn't quite sure how to react to that, it wasn't the answer she was expecting. But still she shrugged, "Hammonds been arrested before. When does he get out?"

"Next month."

"Just in time for Christmas." She smiled at him, "That's nice."

They didn't celebrate Christmas. He just nodded.

"Can you hand me the eighth of an inch?" She pointed over the ledge she was on to the toolbox.

"Yeah." He reached down, digging through the tools for the right one.

* * *

The tower was silent as she waited. Connor was quiet on the other end of the phone call. They were both looking at the screen as the connection bar went across it. It was at ninety nine percent. Daryl was sitting back, waiting to see if they were going to be out there for another day, or if they were heading back to town. He didn't want to go back to town. He wanted to stay out with her, forever.

Ren was staring at the screen and when it went to one hundred, she held her breath. This was it. Her sink or swim test was over. A project she'd been hoping for two years to get done finally was, and under budget. She finally asked, "Connor?"

"Just a minute…" The man said back. After a second she heard a laugh, "All green on my end, just needs the master's calibrations. When are you going to be back to put that in?"

"Justin's going to have me on a flight tomorrow more than likely." She ran her hands over her face.

"Well I can't wait to see you, have you see this end of it, and maybe pop a bottle of champagne." Connor said.

"I'm going to be dead tired. So probably not that last part tomorrow." She smiled, "See you soon."

"Yes ma'am." He answered before she hung up the phone.

Spinning around in the chair she looked at Daryl, an accomplished, but sad smile on her face, "That was it. The towers are all done."

"Let's get goin then." He said, despite not wanting too. They packed up everything and walked back to the truck. The drive back to the ranger station was quiet, and they stayed that way as they picked up bags with more of her belongings in it that had been sent back to be washed and been traded for warmer clothes. Daryl drove her back to her hotel, her fixed rental car sitting outside of it.

She didn't need to ask for his help getting some of her things to her room, or into the rental, he did it willingly. When the last bag was put down on the floor though, they both just stood there. Ren wasn't sure what to do. Should she ask him to stay? She wanted to, but what if since they were back now, since they were out of the forest, it wasn't like it had been. Realizing that if he left now, she might not ever see him again. And if she was never going to see him again, then she was at least going to take a chance. Stepping towards him, she cupped his cheeks, bringing his lips down to hers.

Daryl hadn't been sure if this was going to happen or not, but as his arms wrapped around her waist, he was glad that it was. He held her body against his as they kissed slow. He didn't want to be in a hurry, he wanted to remember every last moment of this. Feeling her fingers grip his hair tighter as the kiss deepened, tongues grazing against each other, he moved his hands down her back, over her ass and to her thighs, gripping them and lifting her up to wrap her legs around him.

She held onto his shoulders as he carried her over to the bed, sitting down on it so she was straddling his lap. Ren could feel him growing beneath her and it just made her want him even more. She didn't know how she was ever going to have sex with anyone else, he'd figured out exactly how to touch her, his fingers gripping her hips and moving up her back. Reaching down she found the hem of her shirt and broke their kiss, lifting it over her head.

Instead of her lips, he went to her neck, nipping and sucking at the skin as his hands moved to her bra hook, removing it as his mouth moved further down her chest. When the fabric was off, he traced his tongue around her nipple before sucking on it, making her gasp. Her fingers ran through his hair, tangling in it as he supported her back. His name came from her lips, a soft, whispered moan filled with pleasure and he realized tonight would be his last night to hear it, and he wanted to hear it a lot.

She wanted his skin against hers and so she tried to focus on the buttons of his shirt, her fingers grazing down his skin as it was revealed to her, making him moan quietly. As she pushed off his shirt, he moved back to her mouth, kissing her deeply, pulling her close to him, their bodies pressed together.

Picking her up slightly, Daryl laid her down on the bed before pulling her shoes off and kicking his off too. Then his fingers started to work on her pants, undoing the buttons before sliding into them, under the fabric of her underwear, making her gasp even louder as his fingers slid though her folds and inside of her. Her fingers gripped at his sides as his thumb moved around her clit, and he was getting harder with every noise she made as she got closer to cumming.

Breaking the kiss, she took in a sharp breath as she got close to the edge, her fingers gripping him tight, bottom lip pulled between her teeth. Her back arched as the waves went through her, pulsing around his fingers and when it passed her hands were working on his pants as he was taking hers off. Before he tossed his pants to the side, he grabbed the condom from them and slid it on. Sliding an arm under her back he lined himself up with her entrance. Their eyes met and it felt like time froze for him.

_Stay with me. Don't go._ Those words were echoing through his head. That's what he wanted to say to her, but how could he? She had a better life, a career where she lived, there was no way he could ask her to stay. He cupped her face, moving a lock of hair out of it and ran his thumb over her cheek, taking in this moment of how she looked, burning it into his brain, wanting to make sure that this, that her, the one good thing that had ever happened to him, stayed with him forever. He could feel her fingers moving up his side, to his shoulder.

"Daryl?" Her voice was soft as she looked up at him. He'd never looked at her like this. No one had. It put her stomach in knots and her chest go tight, but for some reason she liked it.

Her voice had brought him back to reality and he leaned down, kissing her as he entered her. His thrusts were slow as he wrapped his arms around her, and she felt every part of him as he moved inside of her. Her thighs gripped his hips and his fingers tangled in her hair. He was lost in the feeling of her underneath him and she kept him tight in her grasp while she still could. She knew she was going to have to come back to check on the system that'd been installed at some point, but she didn't know when that would be. Or if he would wait for her to come back, and she had no right to ask him to do that.

Breaking the kiss, Daryl pushed his head into the crook of her neck, focusing on how she felt as she came around him. He planned on lasting as long as he could, to have her as long as he could, but when she came again, he followed not long after. They didn't move, both of them catching their breath, her fingers gently stroking the back of his neck.

When he pulled away from her neck, she met him with a long kiss and a smile after they broke. He asked, "Should I go? So you can get some sleep?"

"Who said you have to go for me to sleep?" She smiled again. Pushing hair out of his face she asked, "Do you want to leave?"

"What do you want?" He asked her.

Leaning towards him her lips grazed across his, "For you to do that again."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

They walked out of her hotel room and Daryl put her last bag in the rental car. Slamming the trunk shut he turned to look at her, not knowing what to say. He was shit at this kind of thing, he'd never really had to do good-byes before.

Smiling she walked up to him and held out a sheet of paper, "My phone number, in case your ever in the San Francisco area."

"I told you I don gotta phone." He told her.

"I know," She couldn't help but chuckle. Looking up at him she said, "So I guess you'll just have to put those tracking skills to use then."

He hid a laugh inside of a huff and motioned to the car, "Go on now, you're gunna miss your flight."

"I'll see you around Daryl Dixon." She said as she went to the driver's side of the car. She really hoped she would see him around and so did he.

* * *

**The end!**

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**Just kidding! More to come soon! Let me know what you guys thought of this one :)**


	16. Chapter 16

Walking off the plane she texted Becca that she had landed. Her friend responded saying she was waiting by baggage claim for her and so that's where Ren headed. When she got there, she didn't see the bright blonde hair of her friend, so she stood up on her tip toes to try and find her.

She felt a large hand with a firm grip on her shoulder and reacted by grabbing the hand and spinning around, twisting the person's wrist as she went.

He laughed, "Good reaction time!"

"Hammond?!" She immediately let go of him, a smile breaking across her face as she jumped into his arms. He laughed, squeezing her tight and giving her a kiss on the forehead. When he put her back on the ground, she looked up at him still surprised, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, me and dad, and me and Lena all talked about it and she and I determined that Thanksgiving together would freak her dad out, and dad and I determined we didn't want you out here all alone on a family holiday after a break up like that, so she's with her family, dads with his brothers, and I'm with you. Surprise!"

"You didn't have to." She said, a smile still on her face though as the baggage started coming through. Ren knew she probably would have been fine without him, but she was glad to see her big brother.

"I know. But I wanted to be there for you, it's literally the least I've ever been able to do our whole lives." He laughed as she pointed at the two bags, which her other brother picked up with ease. Carrying them out the door he asked, "These are really heavy, someone helped you at the airport, right?"

"The guy at the car rental place got them out for me." She told him as they walked, "But I carried them to check in."

"You get some muscle working out in the woods for that long?" He teased as he led the way to where her car was parked.

Ren laughed at her brother, "More than you know. I hoisted up all of equipment while Daryl carried it from the car."

"So, he's not around now, tell me about him honestly this time." He looked down at her as they got to her car in the parking lot.

"I was telling you about him honestly." She defended with a laugh. "He was nice, made sure I didn't forget to eat, saved me from a pack of wolves, the normal stuff."

"Saved you from a pack of wolves?! You didn't say anything about that!" He looked at her as he handed her the car keys.

"Oh, I didn't?" She must have left it out because it was so close in time to her and Daryl having sex. "My bad, I'm pretty sure I have a scar on my foot if you want to see it."

"You know people call me crazy for forgetting matches I'm in, but forgetting to mention being attacked by wolves?" Hammond looked at her with a raised eyebrow before getting into the car.

She smiled at him sweetly, "So forgetfulness just runs in the family!"

"Uh-huh." He got in the car, "So you and Daryl going to stay in touch? Become a little team on saving the forests?"

"I would love to, but he doesn't have a phone."

He busted out laughing at this, "Guess I really don't have anything to worry about with the two of you then."

"What do you mean by that?" She almost glared at him.

"He doesn't have a phone, lives in the mountains, and hunts for a living. You work for one of the most technologically advanced companies in the world, live in one of the most modern cities, and build computers systems for a living." He looked over at her still amused, "You're both from two completely different worlds."

"Yeah," she had to admit it. They were opposites. It didn't make sense how they could work outside of the forest, outside of their own little world. "I guess we were. But we still worked well together."

Hammond couldn't help but notice the slight sadness in her eyes at what she'd just said. He knew that Ren got attached to people pretty quick, so it must be hard for her to not see the man every day now. He patted her leg as she backed out, "That's all that matters. I'm sure he'll be around when you go back."

* * *

She sat at the table with her brother, both of them having a beer and empty plates in front of them. He sighed, "Yeah, neither of us inherited mom's cooking skills."

"Right? Even with her recipes, nothing tastes like how she made it. The fact that I remember how her mac and cheese tasted considering how young I was says a lot." Ren looked at him. "Maybe it's the pots?"

"No, I think it's the fact that she actually liked to cook for us."

"Yeah...I'd probably remember to eat more if I liked to cook." She took a sip of her beer before Hammond started laughing.

"God she'd have had a conniption if she saw the 'meal' we just had as Thanksgiving dinner."

She laughed with him. "I don't know, I think we did pretty well considering."

"Considering what? The fact that Lena cooks for me and you only ever have take out?"

"Pretty much, yeah." She said and they both laughed now.

Hammond looked around the apartment, "So are you going to take the space two floors up they offered? It's got a balcony."

"And a spare bedroom I can turn into an office, maybe be able to work from home on rainy days." She said. After looking around her current apartment she nodded, "Yeah, I think I'll take it, plus a new bed."

"Definitely that. Burn the mattress."

"And the couch."

"I should get a blacklight, see what else we should burn." He looked around the place.

"Gross." She fake gagged.

"What, you won't let me find him to ask." Hammond shrugged.

"Because you wouldn't ask, I'd be bailing you out of jail...again."

"Bails pretty steep for murder."

She picked up her empty bottle from the table and grabbed his as she stood, "Which is why you aren't allowed to go find him. He's not important enough for me to lose my big brother over."

"Well he shouldn't have been cheating on you. Or living off of you. Or any of it." He said as she put the bottles on the counter and got two fresh ones from the fridge. Hammond watched and finally asked, "Are you really as okay as you're acting?"

"Yeah." She answered quickly, then paused, really thinking about it, "Yeah, I think I am. I had some time away from it all when it happened, and I think that made it easier? I had time before I had to actually face it and by then I was used to not having Chris around and gotten used to the idea of not being with him anymore. Plus, all of the clothes shopping Beccas been having me do."

"I'm surprised she's not dragging you out right now for all the deals."

"Oh, she's already said she's picking me up early in the morning to go shopping while you get to stay in bed." Ren laughed sitting back down. "I think that if I had been here all alone when it happened, then I wouldn't be this good. Maybe the fact that I have you and Becca around, plus the people at work and that I was away making a huge leap in my career makes it a lot easier to accept that I'm not getting married next year…" She also thought about Daryl, how easy it was to just move to him, to be comfortable with him. "And maybe that means I didn't love Chris like I thought I did."

Hammond held back a proud smile as he sipped his beer. "Well, let's see if they'll let you start moving before I leave. I'm sure between me, you, Becca, and Greg we should be able to get all the big stuff up there."

"That'd be awesome." She smiled at him.

* * *

Ren moved into her new apartment, spent Christmas with her family, and New Years with Becca and their friends from work. But her mind kept wandering to the forest in Georgia and crystal blue eyes. Depending on what thought of him entered her mind, her chest would tighten, or her lower stomach would clench. The second one mostly happened at night, when she was alone in bed and the thoughts of him on top of her, making her moan and sweat, and the way he'd kiss her, the way his fingers worked in between her legs, the way he would hold her as they laid down to sleep when they were done, the way he'd looked at her that last night she was there. On those nights she found herself wanting him more than she'd ever wanted anyone, and not just sexually, she wanted him in the bed with her, wanted to go to sleep knowing she would wake up with him too.

She closed her laptop and turned off the TV as she headed to the bedroom, changing into shorts and a t-shirt. Plugging her phone in to the charger on her night stand she crawled under the covers and laid down before setting her alarm.

Her phone started ringing and she flicked the light on before looking at the screen. It was a little past midnight and she didn't know who could be calling. Looking at the number her phone said it was from Georgia and her heart stopped. It'd been four months since she'd left, she'd thought she'd never get a call from him after that much time had passed. Quickly pressing the button, she said, "Hello?"

"This is Lumpkin County Police Department, you have a call from a Daryl Dixon, do you accept?"

* * *

**A/N: Don't forget to let me know what you're thinking of it so far! I love reading you're reviews :)**


	17. Chapter 17

He took a swig from the drink in front of him, he didn't even know how many he'd had at that point, he didn't keep track anymore when him and Merle went out. It was easier for him that way, Merle got on his nerves less when he drank more, most nights anyways. Looking around Daryl saw his brother with his arm around a different woman than the night before. He looked back to the bar his glass was sitting on, his fingers tracing the grain of the wood. He knew he was way too drunk now because as he looked at the curves in the wood, he thought of the waves in her hair. He should have just stayed home.

Jumping when an arm slung over his shoulder, Daryl relaxed again when he saw it was just Merle. His brother slurred his words, "Need you to do me a 'lil favor baby brother."

"Nah." Was all he got out, knowing what his brother wanted.

"Come on, she's pretty enough." Merle grinned, "I just need you to take her so's I can get her friend."

"I don wan her." He pushed his brothers arm off of him.

"Fuckin shit's wrong with you? You don fucking want no one." Merles voice got louder, "That little uppity bitch still in your head?"

Daryl grabbed him by the collar, "Don call her that."

"Listen, I get it. Matthew said she was damn fine, curves in all the right places. If you gotta pretend that it's her to get it up, then do that." Merle smiled at him, "I'm trying to get us both taken care of."

"Nah." Daryl let him go, grabbing his drink again.

"What the fuck! Was the whore that good?" Merle got angry. "Maybe next time she's in town I'll show her the real deal and you how much of a whore she is as she begs for mo-"

Daryl didn't even give his brother warning as he turned around and swung on him. When Merle hit the ground Daryl yelled, "Stop sayin shit about her! You won fuckin touch her. I don wanna fuck none of them just for you to get your dick wet!"

"Fuckin bastard!" Merle yelled getting back up and running for Daryl, lifting him up and throwing him down on a table.

* * *

"This is Lumpkin County Police Department, you have a call from a Daryl Dixon, do you accept?"

"Yes." She answered quickly. The police, that meant he wasn't hurt right? When the phone connected once again, she repeated, "Hello?"

"Ren?" His voice was soft, curious, and god she'd missed his rasp.

"Daryl. Took you long enough to call." She let out a nervous laugh. "A-are you okay?"

"Drunk." He answered her and she laughed again. "Got arrested."

"For what?" She leaned against her headboard, pulling her legs into her chest, she didn't know how long they would be able to talk, but she was going to get every second she could now that she knew he wasn't hurt or anything.

"Got in a fight with my brother."

"Over what?"

"You."

She didn't understand, "What? Me? Why?"

"Cause he wanted me to fuck some girl so he could fuck her friend. I didn wanna." He hiccupped. "She ain't you. And he got mad that I don't wanna fuck no one else."

"What?" Her voice was almost a whisper. But she focused despite the somersaults her stomach was doing, "Why...what do you mean by that?"

"I miss you." He responded, his words slurring, "None of them are like you. And I don't like that. I like you."

"Daryl?" She stood up from her bed.

"I like you Ren." He repeated, his tone softer despite the drunkenness in it.

"What...what do you like?" It had been just sex they were having, she didn't want to think he was talking about anything but the sex. But the thought of him possibly talking about something else, something that she'd never heard him talk about at all really, and that he was possibly saying it about her, made her heartbeat faster.

"You. You're smart, nice, caring, you don look at me like they do. You look at me like I matter."

"Because you do matter." She spoke without hesitation despite her shock and confusion about the fact he didn't even say anything about their sex, he was legitimately talking about her.

"I gotta go now." He said, "Will I see you again?"

"Yeah." She answered, "You will."

The phone hung up before he could respond, and she looked at her phone. It was twelve thirty am, but she didn't care, Justin has woken her up later than that before. Dialing her bosses' number, she took a deep breath, "Hey, I need a favor."

* * *

Daryl had his head in his hands, the throbbing still very present from his hang over. Thinking back to the night before, he couldn't believe he actually called her, that in the four months they'd been apart it took him being arrested and drunk to use the phone number that had lived in his pocket since she'd given it to him. He listened as Merle threw up in the toilet of their shared cell and he just tried to ignore it. Merle spit out what was left in his mouth and moved to the floor sitting there, "Was she worth it little brother? Was she worth the time in jail when we could be getting laid?"

"Man shut up." Daryl didn't even look at him.

"You even get any pussy from her?" Merle smirked, "Or is it all just some fantasy of yours? I know Cheryl said that you couldn't even get it up last month when she tried to get some from ya."

He rolled his eyes as his brother laughed. "I said shut the fuck up."

"What? You gunna fight me again? Over some bitch you had a crush on that probably doesn't even remember you?" Merle laughed at him.

"You don fuckin know what you're talkin about." He leaned against the wall, at least knew she remembered him based on the phone call.

"Dixon!" A voice yelled from the front of the cell area. It was walking towards them, "You've got a visitor!"

"Who is it? Mary? Or is it Laura?" Merle chuckled, "You gunna let me get conjugal?"

"It's not for you. She's here to see Daryl." The deputy said as he reached the cell door and when Daryl looked over his heart stopped beating.

Her green eyes were framed by brown locks falling on either side of her face and her cheeks were pink from the cold outside. She had a scarf around her neck and a jacket on, but underneath it was the main problem, the dress she wore with stockings covering her legs. Out in the woods she only ever wore jeans and t-shirts, but she was beautiful standing in front of him now, he only wished there weren't bars between them, and that Merle wasn't there.

"What're-" Daryl started then looked back to his brother who was looking at her with a wide smile, eyes going up and down her body. He stood and went over to the bars, "What're you doing here?"

"Apparently making sure that 'I'm talking about the right Daryl Dixon'." She glanced up at the deputy. "Because I guess there's more than one person in here with that name."

"Just wanted to be sure ma'am." The deputy responded.

"Holy shit, is this her?" Merle finally stood, grinning at his brother's eagerness "Didn't know smart chicks could have a figure like that." Daryl shifted nervously, eyes avoiding hers as his brother walked over to him. Merle patted his brother on the shoulder as he looked Ren up and down, licking his bottom lip, "Damn little brother, I might just be able to understand it now, cause I'd have stayed in school if nerds looked like that."

She swallowed hard, keeping her eyes on Daryl and the bruises on his face, "I'm guessing this is your brother?"

"Awe hell," Merle smiled at Daryl, "You told her about me? What'd all you tell her?"

"Stop." Daryl muttered. Ren tried not to get angry, she was more uncomfortable than anything, but she didn't like how Daryl was around his brother, the way he shrunk away from himself. It made her think of the marks on his back.

"Enough, Ms. Reiter, if you'll follow me back." The deputy ended the tension filled encounter and she gave Daryl a small smile as they walked away.

When they were back out in the office of the county jail, she looked at the deputy, "What are the charges? Is there bail or something?"

"No, Bowers just wants them to either serve time or pay for their parts of the damage. Since neither of them really have steady jobs, it's one week in jail." The deputy told her.

"I'll pay Daryl's portion." She had planned on bailing him out anyways, but after seeing him with his brother, she didn't want him in there any longer than needed. She understood now why he'd never mentioned his brother to her until almost the very end.

"Really?" The man let out a laugh.

"Yeah." She answered, she had plenty of reasons to pay for his release, but the deputy only needed to know one, "I'm going back out in the forest tomorrow and Daryl's the only person I trust out there with me."

"Trust a Dixon." The deputy muttered, "Never thought I'd hear that."

"How well do you know him?" She asked as she handed the man her debit card.

"Not very well, just-"

"Then maybe you should get to know him better before you judge him." She cut him off, "Because I'm pretty sure that you're few run ins with him back there and hung over don't compare at all to the three months I spent with him."

"It's just I've heard things." He shrugged as he filled everything out.

"A cop who trusts hearsay." She raised an eyebrow at him. He handed her back her card and she finished, "Don't judge a person by what you hear of them, only judge them by what you personally know."

"Yes ma'am." The deputy smiled at her slightly embarrassed, "I'll go get him now."

* * *

Daryl had sat back down and was trying to ignore Merle being a pig about Ren when the deputy came back. "Alright you're good to go."

"Hot damn!" Merle laughed as he stood up, "I like this girl!"

"Not you Merle, she just covered Daryl." The deputy opened the cell door as Daryl got up from the bench and slowly walked towards the door.

"You really gunna leave me in here?" Merle walked up to him, "You gunna go with that bitch and leave me in here to rot?"

"You'll be out in a week." The deputy shut the door as Daryl kept his eye down to the ground, not looking at either of the two men. "His damages have been covered so unless you have someone willing to come down here for you, he goes and you stay. Period."

Merle grumbled as he laid down on the bench and Daryl was worried about what might happen when his brother got out, but he was also worried about what Ren might do now that she had to fly all the way there to get him out of jail. Plus, all of the stupid shit he'd said on the phone.

When he got to the office she was standing there waiting and when their eyes met, he saw more color flush onto her cheeks. Daryl broke eye contact, embarrassed, before looking back when he heard her say, with a shy voice, "Hi."

"Hey." He almost muttered back.

"My car's outside." She motioned to the door and he nodded before they headed out of the jail.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews guys! Keep letting me know what you think!**


	18. Chapter 18

The drive to her hotel was quiet. Daryl noticed that this car was not as nice as the previous one, it was much better suited for the mountains, and he knew that she must have picked it out this time. When she pulled into the lot, she realized how this was super awkward and quickly asked, "Is it fine that we came here? I can take you somewhere else."

"It's fine." He said opening the door and getting out of the car.

Ren had no idea why she was so nervous around him all of a sudden, her stomach was in knots and her face felt hot every time she looked at him. Getting out of the car, she led them to the room and unlocked the door. Once inside, she set her bag down then motioned, "You're free to take a shower if you want."

"Kay." Was all he responded.

"Alcohol sweat is a lot different than outdoor sweat." She started to ramble but then stopped herself, "And it might help if there's a hangover. But you don't have to if you don't want to."

"Nah, I'll take one." Even he had to admit he felt kind of gross and he didn't want to get to close to her like that, which he hoped he'd be able to do, but he could barely look at her. He headed for the bathroom and Ren looked around the hotel room and when she didn't find what she was looking for she decided to go out and buy it.

He was out of the shower by the time she got back and when she came in the door they just looked at each other for a moment before she motioned to the bed, "If you want, I can take a look at your face. I grabbed some bandages and stuff just now."

"Alright." He sat down as she came over and pulled things out of the bag. She flew all the way there and bailed him out of jail, he wasn't going to fight her on anything. Plus, with her standing in between his legs, it was honestly closer than he'd ever thought he'd get to her again. He was quiet as she worked though. Daryl knew he had at least two cuts on his face, he'd seen them in the bathroom mirror. Every now and then his eyes moved up to look at her, but the moment they did he looked away. She was concentrating on his face, he'd known she could see him looking. He can't believe that he'd called her the night before and now she was there.

"I missed you too." Her voice was soft as she covered a small cut on his cheek.

"Hmm?" He asked, her statement catching him by surprise.

"Last night-" She started then smiled awkwardly, he might have been to drunk to remember. Moving away from him slightly she asked, "Where else hurts?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her now.

"Not the first bar fight I've patched up." She told him, "I know damage is done on more than just the face."

Nodding he unbuttoned his shirt to show the bruise on his chest. Daryl watched as she opened another container and gently spread it over the area of the bruise, working it into his skin. He'd missed the feeling of her hands, of how gently she touched him, of how it made his skin tingle. When she was done, he stopped her from closing the container and quietly said, "My back."

"What?" She looked at him as he lowered his shirt from his shoulders, and she realized he must have bruises on his back. But he'd never been comfortable with her touching him there before, so she double checked, "Are you sure?"

He nodded and she moved around his side and sat behind him on the bed. Swallowing hard, she put some of the salve in her hand and put it to his skin. She felt him tense slightly at her touch, so she stopped moving, and soon he relaxed. Slowly she moved across the bruise that covered most of his back. While she couldn't ignore the scars, she didn't linger on them, she didn't want them to make him more uncomfortable than they already did. When she was done, she leaned her head against the back of his shoulder. Ren didn't want things to be uncomfortable, she didn't want them to be weird. She wanted it to be like it had been before. "I don't know if you remember calling me…or even if you meant what you said…" Her voice got quiet. She was actually scared, she could feel her heart beating through her chest, "But I missed you too…and I like you too."

"I…I didn mean to call you." He said.

"Oh." Was all she could manage to get out, lifting her head from his skin.

"Not like that." He realized how she took it and tried to explain, "I wanted to call. Wanted to talk to you…right after you left but I didn know what I would say." Ren moved to sit at his side, and he managed to look at her through his hair, "Then they asked if I had anyone I could call last night…and all I could think of was hearin your voice."

"So…you remember the call then?" She asked and he nodded, chewing slightly on his bottom lip. "Did…did you mean it?"

He kept his eyes locked on hers as he nodded. Her face went red and she let out a nervous laugh as she looked down at her hands, playing with the fabric of her dress. "Next time, just call. Even if you don't say anything. Just knowing that you thought about me would have been enough, because I felt like an idiot."

"What?"

"Every night…Every night before I went to sleep, I thought about you. Even if I'd had an amazing day, I thought about how it could be better if I was going to sleep with you next to me, or if I had woken up with you there. After four months of that, I was starting to feel like an idiot for holding onto that. I started feeling a little delusional." She gave him a shy smile as she looked back up at him, "I wasn't sure what I was going to do next week since I hadn't heard from you."

"Next week?" He turned to look at her.

"Yeah, a storms coming, first big one of the season. It's actually coming early, so it's a good thing you called because I actually need to get out to a tower tomorrow to observe everything, see if anything needs any tweaks…so I was going to see if my protection wanted to go back out there with me." She laughed slightly, "But since I hadn't heard from you, and didn't know how to contact you, I figured I'd be out there with another ranger."

"Nah." He shook his head, "You only go out there with me."

She laughed more this time, "Yes sir."

Daryl reached out and took her hand, gently pulling her towards him. He'd missed having her close. As she sat pretty much on his lap, he looked at the dress she was wearing, "Never seen you in somethin like this."

"It was comfy on the plane." She blushed, knowing the real reason was because Becca had told her how cute she looked in it and she'd wanted him to see that.

He'd never really noticed how cute it was when she blushed, he liked it, he liked that he could make her blush. He'd never made anyone blush before. His stomach was heavy though, and he wanted to get rid of that feeling, even if it was something he never really did. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She chuckled.

"For you havin to come get me out of jail." His eyes moved away from her, he knew that she didn't care about his brother having been in jail, but she deserved better than to have to deal with getting someone out of jail.

Ren laughed again, "Daryl, trust me, it's no big deal. My brother used to get in fights all the time. So, you're not the first person I've had to come and get from a jail." She moved her hand up his chest, "Plus the reasoning was very good in my opinion."

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Yeah." She smirked, "What girl doesn't want to hear that a guy got in a fight because he refused to sleep with someone else, because, and I quote, he 'don't wanna fuck no one else' and 'none of them are like you'?" He felt his face getting red at her remembering what he told her the night before. Leaning up, she gave him a kiss on the corner of his mouth, "It was…kind of the sweetest thing anyone's ever said about me. So don't feel bad about it. I don't."

He moved a lock of her hair behind her shoulder before he leaned back into her, his lips against hers. Her fingers grazed his neck as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she moved against him, pulling her body more to him. The kiss broke and their noses brushed against each other as they held each other close. Daryl felt her breath as she whispered, "Are we done with the awkwardness of not having spoken for four months? Because, god I missed you."

"Mmhmm." He cupped her face, fingers tangling in her hair as he kissed her again, deeper this time. He was glad she'd already taken off her jacket as he felt for the zipper of her dress. Her fingers running over his skin made him need her even more, he thought about her so much, the way her skin felt under his finer tips and he needed to feel it again. Finally getting the zipper undone he started to push the fabric up while moving her to lay on the bed.

Ren was careful as she wrapped her arms back around him once he'd gotten her dress off and his body was pressed on top of hers. Gently she moved her fingers lower down his back, and while he did still tense slightly, he didn't make moves for her to stop either, which made her happier than she'd have thought it would, to be able to hold him back the way he held her.

Kissing down her neck Daryl re-explored her chest as he undid her bra, he wanted to relearn every curve, catch up on the time they'd missed. She gasped as his tongue flicked over one of the hard pink buds on her chest, he hadn't forgotten at all how to touch her. Her fingers gripped at his hair and his back as he sucked, and she could feel the heat growing between her legs. She prayed she wouldn't wake up from this wet dream if that's what it was, because as he started to kiss and lick down her stomach as he pulled at the waist band of her stockings and panties.

He felt her stomach tense as he kissed the area above her panty line and heard her take a sharp breath in. Hiding a smirk, he nipped at the skin and heard her gasp. Looking back up towards her, he asked, "You want it?"

"Huh?" She couldn't look down at him, knowing that he was right there and that her face was as red as it was. They'd only ever had sex, nothing else added to it and she'd never brought up doing anything else because he hadn't either and she didn't want to start that conversation, she didn't even know how.

"Is it somethin' you want?" He asked again, his mouth getting slightly lower and he heard her breath tremble. "Cause if you want it, I'll do it."

Of all the things she'd ever wanted him to do, this was probably the one she wanted the most. It'd been so long, and it was one of her favorite things. But she didn't want him to feel like he had to just because she wanted it. Swallowing hard she managed to breath out his name, but it was cut off by as gasp as she felt his tongue on her. Her fingers gripped at the sheets as he kissed and licked the area before he found what he was looking for. She let out a pleasure filled whine as he sucked on the button and he couldn't stop himself from getting harder with every noise she made.

If he'd had known she liked this and that he would get this kind of reaction from her, he'd have done it every damn day for her. He put one of her legs over his shoulder, moving in more to her, sliding a finger inside of her, and she could tell she was going to cum soon. She whimpered his name through her labored breathing and as her back arched, she came, her hands in fists holding the bed sheets.

Daryl kissed her inner thigh and asked, "Want me to do it again?" He'd do anything for her, anything to make her happy.

"I want…" She breathed out, "I want you. Please, Daryl."

Kissing back up her body, he pulled his wallet out and from there a condom. He made quick work of his pants and put the condom on before moving back in between her legs. Looking down at her, his thumb running over her forehead, he swallowed hard, before muttering, "I missed you."

She reached up, bringing his mouth to hers and tangled her fingers in his hair as her tongue tangled with his. He pushed into her, a feeling he remembered like it was yesterday, but a feeling he'd missed, just like he'd missed the taste of her lips and the feeling of her fingers against his skin. Their breathing was the only noises as she pulled her leg up higher letting him in deeper. Her arms wrapped around him as his fingers gripped her hip, both holding tight to the other. They were lost in the moment and when she came, their kiss broke, only for him to move his mouth to her neck, nipping and kissing the skin there.

Her thighs held him tight and he knew he wasn't going to last much longer, not with how much he'd wanted her. He was surprised he'd lasted as long as he had considering. She was so tight around him and he held her body tight as he managed a final few thrusts.

After he came they didn't move, both covered in sweat, catching their breath, and not wanting to let each other go. Slowly he pulled his head away from the crook of her neck and when he looked down at her, she brushed his hair out of his face, leaning up slightly to press a gentle kiss against his lips.

Moving the sheets to the side he moved under them after discarding the condom and he pulled her under with him. She laughed, "I take it that means you didn't get much sleep last night." He looked at her confused as she situated herself on her side. She smiled, "It's still daylight out."

"Oh." He looked at the light shining in behind the closed drapes. "You want me to go?"

"I never said that." She scooted in closer to him, "I just thought it was funny. You always want to head out super early anyways, so this doesn't bother me."

"Alright." Daryl laid his arm over her waist.

"And stop always assuming I want you to leave." She took the liberty of moving the rest of the way in, her head against his chest, "Because I don't know that I've wanted that yet."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the late chapter! I've been dealing with some slight depression and I totally forgot what day it was! I'll try to be back next weekend and not two days late again for the next chapter!**

**2/17 UPDATE: I'm getting my groove back! I'm currently re-reading this and re-familiarizing myself with these versions of the two characters and will be updating soon! I don't want to put a date on it, but hopefully really soon for you guys!**


	19. Chapter 19

Daryl watched as she sat at the desk looking out the window with a pair of binoculars. She would watch and when she saw lightening strike in the distance, she would look at the computer, check whatever showed up on there, and write it down. They'd gone all the way out to tower five and within a few hours of having been there, the storm started. For most of it she'd been there at the desk taking notes.

"You're doing it again." She said, writing something down.

"What?" He asked.

"Staring at me." She smirked, turning around to look at him. "You're super bored aren't you."

"Nah." Daryl shook his head, she was better company than Merle would have been in that jail cell. His main issue was how long she'd been sitting there hunched over.

"Liar." She gave him a small smile, "I should be able to take a break soon. I just want to be able to process as much data as possible just in case we lose connection to the office."

"It's fine." He reassured her, "I like the view."

She let out an embarrassed laugh as she looked back to her work, red on her cheeks, "Right."

"I'mma go smoke." He said getting up from the cot and headed outside.

Ren watched him go and tried to focus back on her work. They'd been out there a day and a half and she could tell he was going a little stir crazy except for when she wasn't collecting data, because that's when they spent time together. They mostly talked about her, he said he didn't have much to talk about, but he enjoyed hearing about her family and friends, things he never had gotten to experience the right way. She'd never really thought of her life as normal, or one that someone would want because she was so different, but Daryl seemed to think her life was nice, which she admitted it was and she had been lucky to have it, but it was weird to her when all she'd wanted was simplicity for so long. She was beginning to realize though that simplicity wasn't the life he had, it just wasn't complicated like hers was, but she could understand why he would rather have complicated.

She continued working for a little bit, but he never came back in. Looking to the door she saw him out there standing with the rain pouting inches away from him. Chuckling to herself she walked over and opened the door, "What are you still doing out here?"

"Waitin on you." He answered taking her arm and sliding her out the door. He lit two cigarettes and handed her one, "You needed a break."

"You could have said something." She shook her head with a slight smile, "I was planning on taking one."

"No, you weren't." He pulled her back to his chest, so they were both out of the rain enough to not get drenched, "You even know what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's like twelve thirty." She looked up at him.

"Almost five." He told her before pointing at the clock inside the tower.

"Holy shit! I'm so sorry!" Ren turned to look at him, "I didn't realize I'd been working that long!"

"Don bother me. Just thought you needed to get up and move around." He took a drag of his cigarette.

She chuckled, "Again you could have just told me."

This time he just shrugged, he probably could have, but she had been nose deep in her work and he always hated interrupting her.

"Five p.m. everyday we're out here. Tell me." She smiled, "I'll stop working."

"Alright." He pulled her back in close to his chest.

* * *

Daryl woke up to the sound of the satellite phone ringing. His arms were wrapped around Ren and she had a leg over his hip. The ringing stopped but then started again in seconds and he begrudgingly untangled himself from her and reached for it. His answer was groggy, but Murrays voice was wide awake, "Hey, when're you two heading back? Storms gone and we need to get a ranger back out there."

"Huh?" Daryl looked to the window and saw rays of sunshine beaming in. The storm was gone, and that meant Ren's test was done too. "Uh, she's still sleepin, so when she wakes up, we'll pack up and head out."

"Alright, let me know when you're leaving so I can send Kevin back out." Murray said before hanging up.

As he rolled back over Ren snuggled back into his chest, kissing the skin, "Do we have to go?"

He couldn't stop the small smile from the childlike whine in her voice mixing with the fact she was still half asleep. Daryl kissed the top of her head, "I think I got us a little time."

"Yeah? She looked up at him, her eyes barely open.

"Yeah." He leaned down, sealing his lips over hers.

* * *

His hand was on her knee as they got back to the main ranger station. Daryl cursed under his breath, seeing Merle waiting for them outside.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothin." He answered as he put the ranger's truck in park and got out.

"What the fuck man! You leave me in there while you're out here getting your dick wet?" Merle started towards them, "You do that, and you won't land on the grenade for your own brother when he wants to get some?"

"Stop." Was all Daryl said.

"Are you even gettin any from that stuck up bitch? Or you just hopin, little Darlina?" Merle got in Daryls face. "You ain't never been one to take initiative when it comes to gettin laid, so what the fucks the deal with this? You're wet dreams of her that good?"

"Shut up." Daryl muttered.

Ren didn't know what to do. She hated the way he talked to Daryl and how he treated him especially since it was his brother, but she didn't want to get in the way, because if this guy talked like this to Daryl what would he do to her, because unlike Daryl, Merle seemed like the kind of guy that didn't think twice before hurting someone.

"You know you're just a novelty to get right? Like some kinda rescue dog at the pound that they get bored of after a week." Merle kept going, "You ain't ever gunna have a chance with her. She probably goes home and makes fun of you with all her high-class bitchy friends!"

"Stop it! I know!" Daryl finally yelled back, and Ren felt her stomach drop. He did think she was just using him. She wasn't. She couldn't. Or was it him using her and he wouldn't say it until after she was gone? He'd said he didn't want to be with anyone else just days before, he'd called her. She was so confused and upset.

"Good now get in the truck. We got jobs to do." Merle motioned towards the vehicle.

Daryl turned to look at Ren over his shoulder. Her eyes fell from his and his chest shattered. She muttered, "I'm gunna go. But you should know, regardless of what you think, you're better than how he treats you."

He watched as she turned and got in her rental car and drove away. Why the hell did he say that? Why the hell did Merle beat it out of him in front of her, his insecurities? Why the hell did he let Merle be more important than she was?

* * *

Merle had passed out high and Daryl could finally slip away without him saying something and all he'd wanted to do since she drove away was apologize. And that's what he planned to do. He rode his bike over to her hotel and knocked on the door. She didn't answer. He knocked again even harder, maybe she was really asleep. When she didn't answer again, he called out, "Ren! Open up! Its me." Still nothing, "Ren please! I'm sorry…I didn mean it. Not like that…Merles a dick and I let him get to me. Ren…?"

"She ain't in there." The girl who worked in the lobby came out, "She checked out a week and a half early."

His stomach hit the floor when he heard that. She'd planned to stay after the storm...with him. He'd fucked it up. He always fucked everything up, Merle was right. There was no point in even trying with her, but not because of anything on Ren's end. But because he was the fuck up who couldn't do anything right.

* * *

She'd driven nine hours. When she'd gotten back to her hotel room, Ren couldn't stay there any longer. She wasn't sure what was going on but she felt betrayed and sick and very hurt. But it wasn't all Daryl, he was mostly just confusing. Her mind flickered to him and to Chris. It was such an unfair comparison but her brain couldn't stop confusing the pain because Daryl had been the one to make it not hurt as much when it happened and then he says he thinks she's using him when that was the last thing she wanted. She'd just gotten into her car and driven, and halfway to Virginia she'd realized it was probably rash and stupid and maybe she shouldn't have left. But it was to late at that point. Because what if she went back and he'd meant what he said and she looked like an idiot. It's just hurt even more.

It was pitch black out when she pulled into the driveway. Rain was coming down in sheets and she was drenched by the time she made it to the front door. She had to dig in her bag to find the spare keys she always kept in there and once she managed to get them out she couldn't see to find the right one. Trying the keys on the third one it slipped into the deadbolt and turned it before getting the handle unlocked. Pushing the door open she jumped with a scream as her uncle came at her with a baseball bat. Moving out of the way just in time she caught the light switch, turning it on.

"Holy fuck! Ren?" Negan looked at her. He shut the door and put the bat down before going over to her, "What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go." It's the first time she'd said anything since she left the hotel. She'd thought her voice would hide what all had been on her mind but as it cracked she knew she was wrong.

"What's goin on kid?" He moved over to her, his hands on her shoulders.

She couldn't stop the sniffle, her uncle was always the one that could get anything out of her. Wrapping her arms around his waist she tried to hold back tears, "Why do guys suck so much?"

"Cause we're stupid." He held her back. Negan was worried, "Why aren't you in California? Do your brother and dad know you're here?"

"No. Don't tell them." She looked up at him, he was so much taller than her it made her feel like a child again, "If they know they'll want to come see me."

"And you don't want them to see you like this?" He asked. "See that you're upset?"

"They think I'm handling things so well and I'm really trying to Uncle Negan, I really am." She pushed her head into his chest, "But I don't know what's going on and I'm so confused."

She started crying and he held her tighter, "It's alright, I won't tell them. You can stay here as long as you need."

* * *

**A/N: So I realized that Merle and whatever it was he was going to do is what slowed this chapter down. I just couldn't get past it and once I did the rest of it kind of flew lol. Be sure to let me know what you think (It might be a little rough because, again, i had to deal with Merle not working with my brain). But new chapter should be coming soon!**


	20. Chapter 20

Ren was sitting out by the fire her uncle had built holding a beer. She heard the back door open and he came out to sit next to her, placing the plate of s'mores between them and setting more beers on the ground. He handed her a blanket and she draped it over her legs before grabbing a marshmallow and stabbing it with a skewer.

Negan watched as she put it in the fire. It's been two days since she'd showed up to his house, and he was still worried about her despite her not acting too different. "You gunna tell me what's going on?"

She didn't answer as she watched her marshmallow catch on fire. Pulling it out she blew the flames out. "Why'd…Why'd you cheat on Aunt Lucille?"

"Because I'm an idiot." He answered with a sigh, "A greedy idiot who didn't realize what he had was the best damn thing in the world." He stuck his own marshmallow in the fire, "I don't know if it's why Chris cheated on you or not though."

"I don't understand it. I never looked at anyone else until after I found out." She started constructing her s'more. "_He_ was who I was with, so he was _only_ who I was with."

"That's because you're a good person. You're loyal to a damn fault. And you're sweet." He told her. Watching as she bit into her s'more he realized something in what she said, "You've looked at other people since?" She wiped her mouth slowly, realizing she'd said that on accident. He smirked, "Serenity Mae, you've done more than look, haven't you?" He started laughing and she turned a bright shade of red which made him laugh more. "Never thought you'd be one to rebound, but I can't say I'm not proud."

"It wasn't a rebound…" She muttered, "At least not for me…"

"Is that what he thought it was?" Negan asked.

"No…I don't think so…I don't know." She sat back in her seat. "At first things were so straight forward…then they got confusing…now I don't know what's going on…or if it's even worth worrying about anymore."

"What do you mean?" He handed her another marshmallow.

"He lives in Georgia."

Negan looked over at her, "You met him while you were working there?" She nodded and he slowly understood, "Is there a way for you to talk to him about it? Long distance? That kind of thing?"

"No, he doesn't have a phone." She stabbed her marshmallow angrier this time, "Who the hell doesn't have a phone?! Not even a land line!"

He laughed at her, "Guess until you have a need to call people, you don't need a phone."

"Yeah well…he didn't need to call me and he did." She watched the white fluffy treat start to blacken. "Flew to Georgia early and everything."

"Yeah? What'd he say that was so good?" Negan took a sip of his beer.

She looked at her uncle then looked away, her blush returning, "He said he didn't want to sleep with anyone else…because they weren't me. He was a drunk when he said it so…he could have been lying."

"Nope." He shook his head, "If he were drunk and going to lie, he would have used that line on someone around him, that would benefit him in the moment. A man says that to a woman when she isn't around, he's telling the truth."

"Really?" She blew out her marshmallow.

He nodded, "I'd tell it to Lucille every day if she were still alive. Whether she were here or not."

* * *

Daryl could hear Merle and Laura in the bedroom. The TV didn't go up loud enough to cover the exaggerated sounds the woman was making. Her friend Cara was on the couch next to him, her hands rubbing on his shoulders. He almost didn't notice her mouth on his next because it did nothing to him. Gently he pushed her away.

"Come on Daryl. Don't be like that." The woman climbed on his lap and he tried to hold back his sigh.

"I'm tryin'na watch this." He motioned to the TV.

"Yeah?" She asked her lips on his ear. "What is it then?"

He had no clue what was on. He hadn't really been paying attention to anything. He hadn't since she left. It was as if he was just floating through time, things happening around him, sometimes to him, but none of it mattered. Part of him wished he'd never met her. Then he'd never know what things could be like, would never have had hope that it could be better.

Cara was unbuttoning his shirt now and he stopped her, "Nah."

"Okay, I can work with that." The woman went for his pants and his body had no reaction to her touch.

He pushed her off of him and stood up so she couldn't try again, "I'm going to smoke."

"And when you come back?" She smiled at him, toying with the bottom of her shirt, lifting it up little bits.

"Nah." He couldn't do it. And the last thing he wanted was more of Merle giving him a hard time for not being able to get it up, so instead this time, he just wouldn't even try. Going outside he lit his cigarette and after one drag, he heard the door open.

"Must be some girl." Cara said.

"Huh?"

"The girl you're hung up on. She must be pretty impressive to have you pushin another one off your lap." She leaned against the wall, "Wish a guy would be like that for me."

"Gotta find the right one." He mumbled.

"Yeah I know…I just don't like the wait, but I do like the search." She laughed. "Was she the right one?"

_Only one._ He thought.

When he didn't answer Cara nodded, "Where's she at?"

"Gone."

"Gone where?"

"Somewhere better than here." He took one last drag of his cigarette.

* * *

"Look, I'm telling you, he's a nice guy." Becca said as they shopped, "I'm not saying you have to marry him, just go out on a date. Be single. Get dolled up and let someone buy you dinner. And maybe get laid afterwards if you feel like it. Then if you want, you can never text him again."

"That's rude." Ren looked at her friend as she skimmed the shirts on the rack.

"And that's your problem. It's not rude to have a one-night stand. Ghosting is a little rude, but hey you just got cheated on, you're allowed to be a little mean to the male species right now." Becca shrugged.

"I don't know." Ren mumbled.

Becca pulled out her phone, "Look at him. He's perfect and he's into you."

Ren stared at the screen. He had hazel eyes and honey colored hair. His smile was perfectly straight and his face clean shaven with a strong jaw. Becca was right that he was physically attractive. She sighed, "What's he do again?"

"Greg said he's a bio tech researcher. Definitely smart enough to keep up with you. He also plays piano, so you know," She held her hands up and wiggled her fingers, "he's got finger dexterity."

She didn't want to, but she also couldn't keep saying no to her best friend. It had been two months and waiting on Daryl to call or some type of communication wasn't getting her anywhere. She didn't like it, but what could it hurt, "Okay fine."

"Yay!" Her best friend clapped excitedly.

"Rules!" Ren held up a finger, "he better not expect anything at the end of the night."

"Greg said very respectful."

"No seafood for dinner."

"Pasta it is!" Becca quickly texted her boyfriend, "Now we have to find you an outfit!"

"Becca I have plenty of clothes."

"Yeah, but not sexy ones. They're all 'I've been in a relationship for two years' clothes." Becca smiled, "We need to get you 'Single and ready to wreck your life' clothes. I should call Marco and see if he can help."

"You're insane." Ren said to her.

"But you love me."

"Yeah, yeah." She allowed herself to be dragged to another section of the store.

* * *

Taking a sip of her wine she looked at the menu. It was a fancy restaurant, she should have made that a rule too, but she hadn't and while the wine was delicious, she had no clue what half of the food items actually were. It was not the pasta she was used to eating with her dad and brother…or even Chris. Eventually though she just went with the one thing she knew for sure she knew what it was and that was Ziti.

"So, you've been working on forest fire prevention through use of weather radar and electrical attraction?" Sean asked after they ordered.

"What?" She was a little shocked he would know that much.

"I have friends that work at GHC. Plus, Greg told me about how you were out in Georgia for like three months installing the system." He said, "From what I've heard the idea is very promising and it's genius what you're doing."

"It's nothing really. The hard balance is finding a way to stop excess fires during the dry seasons but allow for the natural burn to happen so that natural regrowth happens." She explained.

"What about man made fires?"

"You mean arson?" She clarified and he nodded, "Well I'm still trying to figure that one out, but if we could built a network of radar systems between the towers themselves, we might be able to get a way to detect the change in heat and smoke density in the forest before the rangers themselves can see it with their eyes. Problem is, there's a lot more forest than there are towers."

Sean laughed softly while looking at her, "You really are amazing."

"Huh?" She asked.

"You're amazing." He smiled at her, "You're smart and your accomplishments are starting really early. I'm not going to lie, when I saw a picture of you I just thought you were really pretty, but then Greg told me more about you and I realized you were more than just a simple tech. Finishing your masters degree at twenty is just baffling."

She hated this. She hated when people did this. Daryl had never once done it to her. She pushed the thought of him from her mind, he wasn't there, he wasn't going to be there. It was over. She had to move on in some way, even if it meant having to get used to people being impressed by her all over again. She shrugged it off with a smile, "I just had the right opportunities. I'm sure other people would have done the same if they'd been given the chances I was."

"And you're humble." His eyes locked onto hers. She had to admit, he was cute. She didn't have to respond though as their salads came.

Managing to make it through dinner, he wasn't bad, he was just very impressed by her credentials and ideas. She at least managed to get away from it somewhat when she brought up his career and research. They left the restaurant and he walked her back to her car.

He was tall and lean, almost towering over her. Wearing a nervous smile, he asked, "Is it to soon for me to ask if we could do this again?"

"Um," She was a little taken off guard but heard Becca in the back of her head to do it, "No, I don't think so."

"Alright, cool." Sean seemed to let out a breath, "Would you want to do this again some time? Maybe something more than dinner? A movie or show if you're into that kind of thing."

"Yeah that…that sounds nice." She smiled, it didn't sound bad. Ren wasn't a big fan of theatre but she liked movies a lot.

"Good. Then I'll call you?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Kay." He responded and she let out a soft laugh the awkwardness of the situation. Turning he started to walk away but before he got more than two steps he stopped and turned back around, "Something else."

"Yeah?" Her breathing stopped and her eyes were wide in shock as he leaned down, his lips connecting to hers.

* * *

Tossing his bow down on the floor at the door of the apartment, Daryl shut the door behind him, "Merle!"

"Aye! Little brother!" Merle came out of the bedroom half naked and higher than the clouds. "You been out in them damn woods again?"

"Yeah." He hated Merle even more now when he was like this.

"You ain't killin nothin when you go." Merle stumbled up to him, "You go out there to think of your lil girlfriend."

"Stop." Daryl was almost to the end of the line with his brother.

"Jesus fuckin Christ man." Merle shoved him but had to catch his balance before mocking Daryl even more, "What? When you go out there you remember cute little laugh and how she would smile?" Merle barked out a laugh, "Or'd you fuck her up against a tree and you goin back to the spot to help remember how she sounded as you-"

"Man shut the fuck up!" Daryl shoved his brother back onto the couch, "I go out there to get the fuck away from you!"

"What? I'm your damn brother. I'm your fuckin blood!" Merle growled.

"Then stop fuckin talkin about Ren all the damn time and givin me shit about it." Daryl yelled, "You're the reason she left. You're the one who fucked it all up because you don understand not wantin to fuck every girl you see!"

Merle forced out a laugh, "So it's my fault you got pussy whipped?"

"No it's your fault for treatin me like shit!" Daryl finally said it. "For treatin me like I don matter!"

He started moving around the room grabbing a few of his things and throwing them into his bag. Merle stood from the couch, "Where the hell you goin? Back into the forest?"

"Don't know. Just away from you." Daryl grabbed the keys to his bike and left.

* * *

**A/N: Well this one just kinda spewed from the fingertips. Maybe the floodgates have reopened? I'm not gunna hold my breath but I'm gunna post 'em while I've got 'em!**


	21. Chapter 21

"So, Greg and Sean were talking about going and seeing a movie together. All of us." Becca said to Ren as they walked back towards their office.

"Sean? That's the one you talked her into going out with, right?" Marco asked.

"Yeah. I figured if it would make her more willing to go out with him a second time, we'd just double date." Becca looked at her friend. "You guys have been texting for like two weeks. And you told him you'd go out with him again."

"I know." Ren moaned. "It's just weird."

"Look it's never easy getting back out there after a long relationship like you had with dick bag." Marco said, "But even if Sean isn't his replacement, you need to get back in the grove for when you do find him."

Ren let out a long groan as the rounded the corner to their building. The three of them stopped as they saw a man getting shoved out of the front doors by security. One of the guards, Mikey, pushed the man a second time so he fell to the ground. "Stay out here!"

"What the hell's going on?" Becca walked up to them.

"Ladies. Marco." Mikey nodded his head at them, "Guys been hanging around for the last thirty minutes."

"Why?" Marco asked.

"Holy shit." Ren's stomach dropped as he picked himself up off the ground. She should have recognized him from far away but without having seen his face she couldn't imagine him being there. Even seeing him she almost couldn't imagine Daryl being there.

"He kept saying he was looking for you Ms. Reiter." The guard told them.

"And why were you kicking him out then?" Ren asked as her eyes couldn't leave Daryl's face, despite the fact he couldn't look at her straight.

"Because it didn't make sense ma'am." Mikey answered, "He doesn't seem like someone we should just let have access to you. Wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Next time, ask." She looked at Becca, "Call in a favor?"

"You really know him?" Becca asked and Ren nodded.

"I'll explain later." Ren looked between her and Marco.

"Okay. Yeah. What do you need?" Becca asked.

"Tell Justin if he asks that my lunch didn't agree with me or something." Ren looked back at Daryl, "I don't think I'm coming back the rest of the day."

"Alright." Her friend nodded but then leaned in, "Everything's okay, though right?"

"Yeah." She smiled, trying to reassure her friend, "He's a sweetheart."

"Text me later." Becca said before her and Marco headed for the door.

Ren nodded for Mikey to go inside too and when he did she turned around and they finally looked at her. She didn't know what to say. Or if she should even say anything.

She was beautiful, the sunlight gleaming off her skin, hair pulled back. She looked perfect, everything he needed to see. Stepping forward he swallowed, "Lost your number. I didn now how else to find you other than your job."

"I…I told you to use your tracking skills." She let out an awkward laugh. Ren could feel Mikey and the other guard staring at them through the doors to make sure Daryl didn't do anything to her. She asked, "Why…why are you here?" When his eyes met hers, her chest went tight and she nodded, "You want to talk about it somewhere else?"

"Yeah." He hated how scared he was of what she would say to him.

"Are you hungry?" She asked as they started to walk, "Cause we just ate, but I can sit while you eat if you want."

"Ren." He knew she wasn't good in situations like this. He wasn't much better, but he hated seeing her uncomfortable.

"Alone?" She knew it was the best option. He nodded and she did too, "Where are you parked? Or how did you get here?"

"Bike." He pointed to where it was parked on the street.

He rode his bike from Georgia? She couldn't imagine how uncomfortable that must have been. Ren hoped this wasn't a bad idea, "If you want you can follow me to my apartment. We can talk there?"

Daryl nodded, it would be good for her if it didn't go well, she would be home already at least. He just didn't know if there was a chance of it actually going well. He just knew she was being nice like she always was. He followed her in her car to a parking garage and she pointed him to a spot to park.

Ren texted the security downstairs letting them know that the motorcycle was with her and not to tow it. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for whatever was about to happen. Whatever explanation he had, she had to make sure that she wouldn't get hurt again. But having him leave would also hurt, so she wasn't sure what she needed to do. But she hated how seeing him on his bike made her feel. It wasn't the time for that.

They walked into the building on the sixth floor that connected to the garage and Daryl felt out of place immediately in the white walled hallways with sleek tile floors and silver accents on the walls and doors. Maybe this had been a mistake, maybe their worlds were to different and it didn't matter how they felt in the forest.

When she put her key in her door and opened it up to where she lived, some of his worries faded. The apartment wasn't clean and sleek like the hallway had been. It was cozy and inviting, there were decorations and pictures hanging on the walls. He could see where if someone wanted it to look like the hallway, it could, but Ren had made it comfortable and welcoming.

She'd prepared herself the whole drive. Turning to look at him she asked again, "Why are you here?"

"I didn mean it." He managed to get out. Daryl wanted to move towards her, wanted to hold her, but it wasn't right of him, "I don't think you're like that. I get it if you never want to see me again, but he fucks with my head and I didn mean to say it."

"Was…was what you said in the hotel room real?" She wanted to be sure, but prepared for the answer.

He nodded, "You're the best thing in my life."

"Wi-" She closed her mouth. She wanted to ask it, all she'd needed was to hear him say it was real. That he meant it. But it wasn't fair of her to ask it.

"Say it." He stepped closer, "Say it, I deserve it."

She shook her head, "It's not fair."

"What I did to you wasn't fair." He said, "So say it."

"Will you stay?" She looked him in the eye, her face pale and her jaw slightly quivering, "Here? With me?"

His chest went tight and he almost couldn't believe she just asked that. But, how could he? "Ren…I never had a job."

"I didn't ask that. I asked if you would stay." She didn't stop looking at him.

"I ain't gunna live off you. It ain't right."

"We'll figure it out." She shrugged, "Did you plan on going back to your brother?"

Daryl didn't say anything. His plan was to just apologize. His eyes left hers and she sighed.

"Daryl…Daryl I went out on a date." She told him and he looked back at her. Her lip was quivering even more, "I went on a date with a guy that practically everyone thinks is perfect. He's handsome, he's an MIT graduate, he's got a career." Ren held back a sniffle, "At the end of the date he kissed me." She saw his jaw go tight at this and so she took a step towards him, less than a foot between them now. Looking directing into his beautiful blue eyes she said, "And I felt nothing."

"What?" He didn't understand.

"He kissed me and all I could think of was you." She told him, a tear going down her cheek, "I don't know what you did, or how you made me only want you, but you did." She put her hand on his chest, "You came all the way out here for a reason Daryl Dixon. Drove almost three thousand miles. Why?"

"Cause I wanted to apologize to you." It had been the thing he thought of when he'd left, was at least telling her he was sorry. "Cause didn mean to hurt you."

"And after you did that?" She asked.

"Didn think that far ahead." He cupped her face, his thumb running along her cheek.

"Yes, you did." She leaned up towards him, her voice a mix of whisper and plea, "Stay."

Daryl couldn't stop himself. She was too close, and he met her lips with his own. Her fingers grazed his jaw line and his arms wrapped around her, holding her close as the kiss deepened. She'd missed him, the way his tongue felt in her mouth, the way his fingers pressed against her waist, but most importantly, she'd missed the way he made her feel. Ren backed away slightly, but he followed her, and she couldn't stop the smile as he kissed her deeply before letting her go. She asked, "Was that a yes?"

"I don't belong here." He finally vocalized.

"You belong wherever you want to be." She told him. "And I'll be behind you whatever you choose."

He wanted to be with her. He nodded, "I'll stay."

Her stomach unclenched and she couldn't stop her smile as he leaned back down to her. But as his lips met her his stomach also growled. Ren pulled away and looked up at him, "I thought you weren't hungry?"

He'd been too nervous to be hungry, but he'd barely eaten since he left Georgia. He'd wanted to make sure he had enough money for gas to get there. He ran a hand down her back, "Just a little."

"Uh huh." She moved from his arms, a smirk pulling at her lips, "Let me see if I have anything." As she made her way into the kitchen she stopped and turned, "Do you have anything you want to bring in?"

"I gotta bag." He answered.

"Okay." She tossed him her keys, "I'll find you something to eat."

He nodded as he headed for the door. Ren let out a big breath and wasn't sure if she was more nervous or excited that he was there. They'd lived together before, but that was in towers in a forest. This was living together. They had more things here though, so it was bound to make it easier.

As she opened her cupboard, she saw barely any food. She didn't have a lot of that since she almost always ate out. She managed to find enough to make him a sandwich though and was finishing it as he came back in.

Watching him put the backpack down she pointed, "That's it?" He nodded and she couldn't stop her laugh, "You rode all the way here with a backpack? You really didn't have a plan, did you?"

"Not past you, no." He told her.

She felt the heat in her cheeks. Handing him the sandwich she apologized, "It's not much...I don't really keep that much food in the house."

"Explains why you never remember to eat." He said before taking a bite.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing you're here." She smiled up at him, the nerves slowly going away as things began to feel familiar once again. Walking over to the backpack she asked, "I'm assuming these need to be washed?"

"Yeah but you ain't gotta-" He started but she put her hand up.

"You feed me, I'll do your laundry." She looked him in the eye.

He nodded, "Alright."

Putting the sandwich in his mouth he used the hand it was just in to open the door to the fridge and saw that there was almost nothing in there food wise. She sighed, "Yeah, I'm probably going to need to go grocery shopping. But that's fine because you're going to need clothes."

"Nah." He shook his head.

"I don't care if it's just t shirts and jeans, you're not living in the same three outfits." She opened up the backpack, "Plus, if you want to get a job, you're going to need different clothes."

The realization of what was happening hit him. He was going to be living with Ren, they were going to be together in a place he doesn't know, a city he's never been to. He didn't want to mess up or make her life harder.

"I've…" He was embarrassed by what he was about to say, "I've never done anythin like this before."

"I'd never done what I did in the forest before." She told him. "But we figured that out."

He nodded, "We'll figure this out too."

"Yeah." She smiled. "Now, so we don't overwhelm you, how about we shop online for some new clothes?"

"Alright." He'd never done that either. But he guessed she was right that was better than him having to go out to stores, something else he'd never really done. Most of his clothes had been Merles at some point.

"Come on." She waved him over to the couch and he stopped. She turned around to look at him, "What?"

"Can I shower first?" He asked. Despite how cozy her apartment was, it was still clean, and he was not after days straight on a motorcycle, sleeping outside at rest stops and in parks.

She laughed, "Yeah, come on. I might even have something clean for you to wear."

He followed her through the living room to a hall where the bathroom was, and she showed him where everything was at. It took all her willpower to not join him in there, but she knew she needed to start his clothes in the laundry and text Becca that everything was good. Which is exactly what she did before finding something that her brother had left there, she knew that would fit him.

When he was done, he came out of the bathroom, toweling his hair, wearing sweatpants and a t shirt. Ren was already seated on the couch and he sat down next to her as she pulled her laptop on her lap.

"So, I made a list of things you probably need. The ones up here are the more important, need right now sort of thing, and the ones down here are the ones we can get as we go." She pointed at the screen and he just nodded. Ren looked at him, her throat tight, "Where...where do you want to sleep because I have a spare bed, I just need to get like sheets and stuff for it but you're more than welcome to sleep in my bed with me if you want but you don't ha-" He stopped her by kissing her and she nodded, "Right. My bed it is."

They sat there for a while picking out things for him, or rather Ren was trying to get him to pick out things because he either didn't care or he didn't want to be too much trouble. After about an hour he finally started pointing at things on the screen when it came to clothes. He'd never really gotten to pick them out before. The ones he picked weren't fancy, but he'd always liked button down shirts. The ones he picked out were all black, but they were nicer than any of the ones Merle had ever owned, they didn't have holes in them, and Ren said they should fit him better.

They ordered dinner since they didn't feel like going out and when they were done eating, they were back on the couch.

Daryl put his arm around her, and she leaned against his shoulder. After a moment she nuzzled into him more and he took the chance to pull her legs over his lap, pulling her closer to him. He felt her hand over his and he watched as her fingers traced the tattoo on his hand. "This one's new."

"Yeah. Got it 'bout a week after you left." He said, his lips against her temple.

"I…" She swallowed hard and he rubbed her leg to let her know it was okay to say whatever was on her mind, "I shouldn't have left, should I?"

"You weren't wrong." He told her, "But…but I did come to see you." She looked up at him, her eyes wide and scared, "I was gunna apologize then, but you'd gone. I'm glad you did. I'd've never left if I'd've said sorry that night."

"I thought I'd never see you again." Ren leaned towards him, pressing her lips to his.

He cradled her head as the kiss deepened. He'd thought the same at points after she'd left, but the longer he'd gone without her, the more he knew he needed her. Holding onto his collar she leaned back, pulling him down with her as she laid on the couch. Moving over her his hand gripped her waist as her fingers tangled in his hair, their tongues meeting in passionate caresses. Daryl went to reach for his back pocket where his wallet was and remembered that there wasn't a condom in there anymore. He'd given it to Merle and saw no need to replace it if Ren wasn't around.

Breaking the kiss, he put his head on her shoulder, "I'm sorry."

"Why?" She wasn't sure if she should be worried or not.

"I…I uh ain't got a condom." He told her and she laughed.

"Really now?"

"I wasn't usin 'em." He looked back at her.

She moved hair out of his face, "Good answer."

"You don't have any?"

"I wasn't using them." She shook her head. A small smile was on her face, "It's okay though. We don't have a time limit anymore."

* * *

**A/N: Okay guys, I know this was a long one, but I really wanted to keep every part of this chapter! I'm not sure if these longer chapters will happen more or not, but if they happen often, I hope you guys don't mind them. Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter in all it's lengthy goodness!**


	22. Chapter 22

Her alarm tune woke her up and as she reached to turn it off, the one thing that told her the day before had really happened, was feeling his arm stiffen around her waist as he stretched. Rolling over she nuzzled into his chest, a smile on her face.

"What?" He asked about the smile.

"I thought maybe it was a dream." She looked up at him. Daryl moved a lock of hair from her face and she saw him looking at her like that again, the way he did in the beginning. People had always looked at her like she was different, because she was, but he looked at her like she was different in another way. Like she was special for another reason. She sighed, "Only you could make me want to not go to work."

"Rather that than makin ya want to go to work." He pulled her in close.

"That's only happened when I worked in the towers." She smiled as she gave him a quick kiss before trying to get up.

"Nuh uh." He said, pulling her back down, her laugh muffled by their kiss. Daryl enjoyed the sounds of her laughter, almost as much as he enjoyed her kisses. When they'd been in the tower, he thought that'd be all they had, but then they also had the hotel room after that. He never thought though he'd be in her bed, in California, and happy. It'd only been one day, but he could see how happy she was, and it was a surprise to him how happy he felt too. "I shoulda left the night you did if I knew that I coulda been wakin up to this."

"You wouldn't have right away." She told him, "I went to my uncles in Virginia afterwards. Didn't want to explain why I wasn't using all of the time I asked for."

"I'm sorry." He looked down at her.

"Stop." She laughed and gave him a shove, "You're here. You're here and we're together and that's all that matters. But unfortunately, I do need to get up for work."

"Need me to do anythin?" He asked as he begrudgingly let her go.

Looking over her shoulder at him she said, "I need you to relax." When he looked at her confused, she elaborated, "Daryl you just spent days on the road going across the country. You need to rest and recover a bit."

"I'm fi-"

"Liar." She started heading for the bedroom, "You snored last night. You only did that when you were really tired."

Daryl didn't realize he snored. "I don snore."

"It's not consistent, but yeah you do." She laughed as he heard the shower starting.

He guessed that spending one day resting wouldn't be to bad. At least it would give him time to familiarize himself with her apartment. Staying in bed while she showered, he didn't want to be tempted without protection, he then watched as she got dressed for work. When she grabbed her phone, she sat back on the side of the bed. "I should be home around five or five thirty. Until then, make yourself at home."

He nodded and she leaned down to give him another kiss, which he once again held her there for.

"Bye." She whispered on his lips and he muttered it back as she left.

* * *

She walked into the office and Mikey offered her a donut, "Sorry about yesterday Ms. Reiter. We just assumed-"

"You know what happens when you assume." She smiled at him.

"Makes an ass out of you and me, I know." He mumbled out.

She started walking to the elevator as she scanned her ID, "Oh, hell no, just you, I didn't do anything."

The two of them laughed as she got into the elevator and rode up to her floor. Once she was out, she made a b-line for Beccas desk. Once there her friend looked up, "Hey, you going to elaborate now?"

"Yeah."

"Cool, I just put on a pot of coffee." Becca stood and the two of them headed for the break room, "So who was he? He looks like one of your brother or uncles friends."

"You remember Daryl? From Georgia?" Ren asked as they made it to the coffee machine.

"No way." Becca gasped.

"Yeah." Ren tapped on the table nervously.

"Why is he all the way out here to see you? You said the dude didn't even have a cell phone?" Becca looked at her confused.

"Well…you see," Ren tried to figure out the best way to put it, "After the whole Chris thing…Daryl and I kinda started sleeping together?"

Becca gasped once again and started smiling, "I love you." Ren couldn't help but laugh at her friend, who then asked, "But if it was just a rebound, why is he here?"

"Because…it wasn't a rebound?" Ren spoke cautiously.

"Wait…so you two…? There are feelings?" Becca clarified and Ren nodded. After a moment she looked at her friend, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it." Ren answered honestly.

"Feel about what?"

"About the age difference, the fact I just got out of an engagement and now I had feeling for someone else, stuff like that." Ren felt the tension in her shoulders release telling her best friend all of this.

"Bitch, does he make you happy?"

A smile slowly started to form on Ren's face as she nodded, "Yeah."

"Then I couldn't give two shits about any of that stuff. You're my best friend. All I want is for you to be happy." Becca smiled then shrugged, "Plus Greg is five years older than me, so I don't care."

"This is a little more than five years." Ren told her, "More like thirteen or so?"

"Makes sense though, you've been around people significantly older than you your whole life." Becca shrugged. "Guess I'll have to make Greg give Sean the bad news."

"Really? Isn't that kind of messed up though?" She asked.

"I mean a little but considering I'm the one that talked you into the situation…" Her friend laughed.

"Whoa, what is this breakroom bullshit and why was I not invited?" Marco walked in and asked seeing the two girls.

"Ren has a boyfriend." Becca answered.

"What?" Marco came over with a smile after pouring his coffee.

"He's not my-" She stopped not sure exactly what he was.

"He came from Georgia to be with you." Becca looked at her. "Is he going to be living with you?"

"Yeah…" Ren answered.

"Boyfriend." Becca told her.

"Wait, another one's going to be living off you?" Marco asked, "I'm not going to allow that."

"He wants to get a job." Ren defended, "But…"

"But what?" Marco looked at her.

Ren sighed, "Don't judge him, but he's never had a 'real' job before."

"Define 'real'." Becca quirked her head, "Like 'real' as in how people classify careers vs like retail or never been employed?"

"He worked sort of like a freelancer I guess for the rangers out in Georgia." Ren told them, "But other than that I don't think so."

"What's he good at?" Becca asked.

"Tracking, hunting…cars." Ren thought about it.

"Cars?" Marco asked and Ren nodded. "I might be able to help him out. My cousin's shop just got a big boom in business. I could vouch for him through you to get him an interview."

"Really?" Ren perked up. She wasn't sure how good he would do at an interview, but she knew he'd try his best. But she knew he knew enough about cars to get hired. "He was able to tell what was wrong with my rental just by looking under the hood."

"Alright. I'll talk to my cousin and let you know." Marco said, then smiled, "Don't say I don't love you."

* * *

Daryl had been bored most of the day. He'd slept a little bit longer after she left, then he got used to the apartment, then he turned the TV on but didn't really watch it. He had to admit though, she was right. He needed a break after that long of a ride. He munched and nibbled throughout the day, finding little pockets of food around her kitchen and around four forty-five, he pulled out enough to make them something for dinner. It wasn't fancy, but it was based on what she had. It was really the one thing she'd said he should do. He did it for her all the time before, just not official like this.

Her timing on getting home was perfect as he was finishing up. Ren put down the bags in her hands and walked into the kitchen, "What's this?"

"Dinner." He told her.

"Smells delicious." She said looking down at the grilled cheese sandwich.

"Wasn't much to work with." He looked over at her and she smiled, getting up on her toes to give him a quick peck.

"I stopped and got somethings that can last us until we can go grocery shopping." She said and then went over to the bag, "Also got you this." He watched as she walked back over and handed him a box with a cellphone in it. "It's not fancy and it's prepaid. You don't have to use it a lot if you don't want to, but just in case I get stuck at the office or something I can text you and let you know."

"Alright." He nodded. He was definitely going to have to figure out how to use it.

"I can teach you after dinner if you want." She smiled as he was just looking at the box. He nodded again and she laughed, "Is it done? Because I'm starving."

"What'd you do before?" He asked putting the sandwiches on a plate.

"Got takeout delivered?" She spoke and he looked at her and she gave him an innocent smile, "When I remembered?"

"Uh huh. Here." He handed her the plate and she hopped up on the counter and began eating. Daryl couldn't stop the smile at her doing this. She had always had cute habits, but seeing her in her own home, he enjoyed them so much more. He leaned against the other counter as he ate his and there was a peaceful quiet as they ate.

When they were done, she put up the few groceries that needed to be in the refrigerator and then they went to the couch where she explained the phone to him. She texted the phone to show him what it would look like and showed him simple ways to respond. Ren showed him some of the features of it and tried her best not to confuse him.

"So, it takes pictures?" He asked.

"Yeah." She told him and pulled out her phone, opening the gallery, "I took this one in Georgia when it started to snow."

"Huh." He looked at the tiny thin black rectangle. He'd only ever seen the ones that were thick and mostly a keypad. Opening up the camera he moved it to where he saw her on the screen.

"What are you doing?" She laughed at him and he clicked the button she'd shown him, and he saw the picture of her smiling pop up there for a moment. "Did you just take a picture of me?"

"Yeah." He answered. After she'd left all he had were his memories of her, and each time he tried to remember how she looked, it was as if it faded more in his mind.

"Alright then." She picked her phone back up and aimed it at him. He looked back up at her right as she hit the button, "Two can play at that game."

"Nah." He shook his head and she laughed nodding hers.

"Yup." She moved her hand away from him as he reached for her phone. Laughing more as he tried harder, she slid her phone onto the floor, and this pulled him down on top of her. Smiling she pressed her lips against his and when they broke, she whispered, "That's going to be my new phone background."

"Stop." He moved a bit of hair from her forehead.

"Nope. It's official Daryl Dixon." She smiled.

"Fine." He kissed her again, giving up. He'd always hated photos of himself, but he couldn't say no to her. Her fingers grazed his jaw as their kiss continued.

She looked up at him when he stopped it though, "Come on. Help me put up the rest of the groceries."

"Alright." He lifted himself off of her. They didn't say much while putting the few things away, but they were glances and small smiles. When she grabbed the last bag, he collected the rest of them, balling them up on the counter. She started carrying a bag with stuff still in it into the bedroom, and he asked, "What's in there?"

"Just some essentials for you." She looked in it, "Toothbrush, deodorant,…condoms."

She smirked as she started to turn back towards the bedroom, but he caught her arm and turned her back to him, his lips meeting hers. He knew she'd been waiting to tell him so they could get done what they needed to with dinner and the phone, because they both knew that once they started, they weren't going to stop.

His hand wrapped around her back as her fingers went through his hair. Moving his hands lower they went over her ass to her thighs and he picked her up, her legs wrapping around him as he carried her to the bedroom. She dropped the grocery bag beside the bed as he laid her down on it and climbed on top of her. Ren didn't waste any time in getting his shirt off as they kissed more feverishly, their tongues dancing.

Once her shirt was off, he removed her bra and his hand swiftly found the mound and hardening bud. She felt him wrap the other arm around her and his body was pressed against hers. She didn't know why she enjoyed it so much, the feeling of his weight on her, but she did. Unable to stop the moan as his mouth moved to her neck, she felt his hips grind against hers. His gravelly voice dripping with want entered her ear, "You gotta work tomorrow?"

"Yes." She let out a laugh before nipping at his ear, "But it wouldn't be the first time I've pulled an all nighter."

That was good because he wasn't planning on them sleeping much. He'd missed more than he'd ever missed anyone, and now he had her, and she'd been right, they didn't have a time limit. He took his time, his hands and mouth exploring and rediscovering every part of her. Her hands gripping him tight and his name leaving her in moans and ecstasy laced whispers. Sweat on their bodies building more and more with every orgasm she had. Ren wasn't even sure if she'd be able to walk properly the next day, but she didn't care. All she cared about was that he was there, and they were together again.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you guys like this one! Sorry it's taking me so long to get chapters out. Life is crazy!**


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